Wildfires in eastern Nevada escalated due to high winds and favorable conditions for fire growth Saturday, leading officials to elevate response efforts.
The Great Basin geographic area — spanning most of Nevada, Utah and southern Idaho — was moved to Preparedness Level 4 on Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management said in a release Sunday.
“Preparedness Levels range from 1 to 5 and reflect the demand for and availability of national wildland firefighting resources,” the release said. “At Level 4, firefighting resources are heavily committed, with significant wildfire activity occurring across multiple regions of the country.”
In Nevada, fire crews battled the Grapevine and Kane Springs fires, located near Caliente, 140 miles northeast of Las Vegas, since June 17 before two new fires, the Parsnip Peak and Dry Canyon fires, emerged Friday near Pioche.
A Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory was issued by Great Basin Predictive Services Saturday through July 10, as hot and dry conditions are expected to further increase fire danger into July.
Nevada wildfire updates
The Parsnip Peak Fire is estimated at more than 3,000 acres and is at zero percent containment. Fire activity is in the remote wilderness area where steep, rugged terrain has limited helicopter crew insertions. With improved weather conditions, fire managers anticipate inserting helitack crews and smokejumpers Monday to begin constructing fire control lines.
The Dry Canyon Fire is estimated at 1,705 acres and is at 10 percent containment. Crews worked through the night Saturday, constructing dozer lines to limit fire growth. Mop-up operations will continue along with strengthening of fire lines.
The Kane Springs Fire is estimated at 17,042 acres and is 75 percent contained. Fire crews secured the fire perimeter while continuing mop-up efforts on interior hotspots.
The Grapevine Fire is estimated at 26,433 acres and remains at zero percent containment. The blaze remained in the planned containment features during the two-day red flag warning over the weekend. Increased winds are expected to remain in the area with another cold front passing through overnight Sunday.
Closures remain in place
The Beaver Dam State Park remains closed to visitors. The Eagle Valley Reservoir in Spring Valley State Park is also closed to boating due to fire suppression activity.
Residents and visitors are advised to to avoid active fire areas and remain alert for firefighting personnel and equipment operating on area roads.
They are also urged to avoid activities that could ignite wildfire like burning, recreational shooting or any activity that could produce sparks.
Contact Trevor Squire at tsquire@reviewjournal.com Follow him at @trevordsquire on X.
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