PHOTO: More than a dozen state, local and federal officials convened at the Capitol on Thursday to give Gov. Steve Sisolak a briefing on what they expect this wildfire season.
Sisolak pointed to the “sweeping impacts” of climate change, drought, heat and invasive grasses that are making controlling those fires a huge challenge across the West.
“As highlighted at today’s wildland fire briefing, achieving this goal at the pace and scale needed takes coordination and collaboration at all levels of government,” he said.
In 2021, there were 610 wildland fires in Nevada that burned 134,145 acres. Statistics presented Thursday show that 363 of those fires, 59.5 percent, were human caused.
The Tamarack Fire alone burned 69,000 acres in Nevada and California. Officials told the governor that, consistent with the last two years, Nevada’s fire potential this year is likely above average in severity and total acres burned.