The risks that remain in this year's fire season seem to be opening the door to winter wildfires, just like last year. A new wildfire hazard risk report shows Nevada has more than 5,000 homes that fall into the high and very high wildfire risk categories.
Reno Fire Department inspector Patrick Mooneyhan is not shocked that so many homes here are at high risk for wildfire destruction. As he told us, "No, with the vegetation in our state and the dry conditons we encounter, that statistic doesn't surprise me at all."
The nationwide report from CoreLogic says 5,011 Nevada homes are in high or very high risk of wildfire damage. Added up, that's over one billion dollars in home values that could go up in smoke:
--NEVADA HOMES IN HIGH-VERY HIGH RISK: 5,011
--POTENTIAL RESIDENTIAL DAMAGE COST: $1,293,654,873
Trouble waiting to happen, and increasing as fire fuels get increasingly parched. Mooneyhan says vegetation is "Dry to the point where stuff is ready to burn without much provocation."
Yes, we're coming up on mid-September, but temperatures are staying above average warm, and we are so dry: only .04 of an inch of rain in over 3 months time. Extreme fire conditions like we'd usually see in August…and eerily similar to last year. Mooneyhan told us, "We're really looking at a situation going into the fall and winter that we were in last year, when we had the 2 devastating fires."
Those were the Caughlin Fire last November, and the Washoe Valley Fire in January. Mooneyhan expects another extended fire season this year. With upslope fires, homes on hills carry the biggest risk. Mooneyhan pointed out a house that did it right: "You've got a stucco home with a tile roof, you've got plants that are well spread out, and there's probably a good mosaic pattern there, so that's a home we can easily defend."
But we saw some that do it wrong, with combustible junipers...too close. For them, and others, the same lessons are still important. "Keep an eye out for things and protect your home. We need your help."
-written by John Potter
There's a website with everything you need to know about reducing the wildfire threat at your home. Just click to connect:
www.livingwithfire.info
