LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Peak wildfire season has arrived in the Mojave Desert, with the landscape incredibly dry and primed for quickly spreading blazes.
"How dry it is out here and how easy it is for things to catch fire," Las Vegas local Leonard Aquilar told Channel 13 as he was out recreating at Red Rock.
VIDEO: Geneva Zoltek speaks to a fire prevention specialist about drought conditions
"A fire could start from anything," said fellow local Ellen Svarckopf.
"When I see the fire season coming up around here, it really hits me right in the heart," she added.
The percentage of Nevada land facing abnormally dry to extreme drought conditions has increased by over 350% since last July — increasing from 22.02% to 99.63% in 12 months, showing a dramatic rise of 77.61% (352.67% increase).
This dramatic shift means over 2 million Silver State residents now live in drought-stricken areas.
Here's the comparison between the two statistics from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The trees, shrubs and grasses dotting the landscape—what firefighters call fuel—are starved of moisture, creating dangerous conditions.
"It's easier for them to ignite, it's easier for fires to spread rapidly and it also causes our fire seasons to start earlier and last longer," said Shane Kelly, Bureau of Land Management Fire Prevention Specialist for Southern Nevada.
The 30,000-acre blaze, the Gothic Fire, in Nye County spread in those very same conditions.
"Desert fires are rapid. They move very, very quickly. That makes them very difficult to control," Kelly said.
The Gothic Fire started July 4th from a lightning strike and is currently 10% complete. Because the fire is on Department of Defense land far away from buildings or public areas, the BLM is not using a full suppression strategy. Instead, they're focusing efforts on holding it within set boundaries, with the objective being completion rather than containment.
"That confine and contain strategy is being used primarily to reduce risk and exposure to firefighters out in that area," Kelly said.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, over 2.5 million acres have burned in the U.S. so far this year, with 37 large fires currently burning in the West and 15,000 first responders deployed.
"If we take appropriate precautions, we can reduce fire starts here," Kelly said.
In Southern Nevada, residents can play a big role in prevention, as 80-90% of fires in the region are human-caused, according to Kelly.
"The reality is fire season here doesn't end until we get a significant amount of monsoonal moisture, and we haven't gotten enough yet," Kelly said.
As we continue through the hot, dry summer season, officials urge the public to call 911 if they see smoke or flames on public land. Quick action can mean the difference between a small fire and a major incident.
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