Nevada officials warn Gov. Lombardo of heightened 2026 wildfire risk as heat nears

Nevada fire officials are warning that 2026 could bring a challenging wildfire season, with abundant fuels and early drought conditions raising the potential for large-scale fires as the state heads into warmer months.

On Wednesday, Gov. Joe Lombardo received a briefing from state and federal fire agencies, including the Nevada Division of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, on wildfire conditions and preparedness across the state.

“2026 is going to prove to be challenging,” said Ryan Shane, the state forester fire warden for the Nevada Division of Forestry.

While fire activity in northern Nevada was fairly mild in 2025, Shane said other parts of the state saw significant impacts.

“2025 last year was the heaviest fire year we’ve had in the last five, just about 457,000 acres burned, which is slightly above our 20 year rolling average,” Shane said. He added that “the acreage burned was largely in the northeastern Nevada.”

Communities being ready, the public not starting fires, and the fire suppression service getting out there doing a quick job of suppression fires kept any of these fires from going very large in this part of the state.

Officials said about 579 fires burned in 2025, with more than 300 of those being human-caused.

Looking ahead to 2026, Shane said fuels are abundant across the region, particularly in northern Nevada, as drought conditions begin to take hold.

“This is the first year of the onset of the drought cycle. And we have a lot of carryover fuels from previous years, as well as the fuels that have grown this year. We have a lack of snowpack in the upper elevations,” Shane said.

Fire agencies are coordinating with the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, which helps officials plan for fires and allocate resources when needed.

Jim Wallmann, a meteorologist with the National Interagency Coordination Center, said low Sierra snowpack and amount of fuel available is among the biggest factors influencing this year’s fire activity.

“They’re going to cure out generally earlier and then all the leftover grass in northern Nevada that we have from the last couple years as well and whatever little growth we get from this year will only add to it,” Wallmann said.

Shane said interagency agreements and help from local communities will be key through the year, urging residents to be prepared when outdoors.

“If you’re out and about, make sure you carry a shovel, some water, possibly a fire extinguisher, and a way to communicate and report a fire if you see one or cause one,” Shane said.

The U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Nevada Division of Forestry are working to mitigate fuels, while efforts including resilient landscaping, fire-adapted communities and safe, effective fire response are aimed at keeping Nevada more fire-ready in 2026.

Email reporter Anthony Ramos at aramos@sbgtv.com. Follow @antramosnews on X and Anthony Ramos on Facebook.