The drought was accelerated by record-breaking heat in 2024, the hottest year on record. But record-breaking heat is becoming the norm. The past decade has been the hottest in two centuries of record-keeping, NOAA reports.

Heat waves are also becoming the norm. Researchers at NASA found that summer heat waves in the U.S. have roughly doubled in number since 1980, increasing from an average of two to four per month.

Rising temperatures have helped Nevada claim two of the fastest warming cities in the nation — Reno and Las Vegas — but rural areas haven’t escaped the heat. When the fire broke out on the Walker River Reservation in June, the nearest weather tower (about 25 miles away) recorded average monthly temperatures 5 degrees above normal.

Since 1950, average temperatures on the Walker River Reservation have increased by 3 degrees, according to Native Climate, a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded research project to support climate adaptation efforts in Native American communities.

Days over 100 degrees have also tripled on the reservation from an average of five days in 1950, to 20 days in 2025. If emissions continue on their current trajectory, there could be about 40 days over 100 degrees on the Walker River Reservation by the end of the century.

“You can see a huge increase in the number of degree days over 100 degrees,” said Maureen McCarthy, a research professor at Desert Research Institute who led the Native Climate project.

“The extremes are becoming more extreme, in addition to the average temperatures changing,” McCarthy said. “That’s a big impact. We’re not designed to function at 100 degrees.”

The Walker River Housing Department reports that about 44% of homes on the reservation rely on swamp coolers, but evaporative-cooling appliances become less effective at 100 degrees and above. The cost of replacing one with central cooling is also a barrier for low-income households.

Aging infrastructure only makes adapting to rising temperatures and extreme weather more difficult. The Walker River Housing Department reports that two-thirds of homes on the reservation built before 2000 have older, deteriorating roofs and windows that must be replaced to improve climate resilience.

Households on the reservation are already burdened with energy costs that are 24% higher than the state average, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Low-Income Energy Affordability Data tool. They also spend twice as much of their income on energy costs compared to the state average.

Replacing inefficient appliances that increase energy costs can also be difficult for lower-income households, including many on the reservation. The median household income for the Walker River Paiute Tribe is around $40,000 – about 53% lower than the median household income for Nevada. Unemployment is about twice as high, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

Funding from the Community Change Grant would have covered the purchase of energy-efficient heat pumps, water heaters, induction cooktops, electric ovens and new dryers and refrigerators for 120 homes on the reservation.

“We were devastated when we started hearing all of our funding getting cut because we thought we were going to have these programs,” said Genia Williams, the housing director for the Walker River Paiute Tribe. “There was a lot of work put into it from my grant writers, past chairman, past administrators that worked hard to get this.”

The Nevada Clean Energy Fund — a nonprofit bank created by state legislation — also worked with the Walker River Paiute Tribe to secure the Community Change Grant. 

Since becoming the housing director a decade ago, Williams said persistent blackouts have also been a challenge for the rural reservation. The reservation sits at the end of an energy grid, and as demands for electricity rise with more intense summer heat blackouts rise too.

A joint survey by the bank and tribe found that 50% of households surveyed reported experiencing blackouts four to nine times per year, while a third reported experiencing blackouts more than 12 times per year. Two-thirds of households reported that power outages generally last between four and eight hours.

Unreliable power is especially hard on elders who have difficulty operating backup generators, and medically vulnerable residents who rely on ventilators or need to keep medication refrigerated. The Community Change Grant would have allowed the tribe to install solar power and battery storage in 100 of the most vulnerable households.

“We’re just going to have to weather the storm and see what we can come up with and keep moving forward on these things,” Williams said.

Saving graces

The years of planning are not lost, and some of the tribe’s climate resiliency plans are moving forward, but on a smaller scale.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the tribe partial funding in 2022 to build a food distribution center that supports the tribe’s long-term food security and sovereignty plan.