Southern Nevada has a low wildfire risk, Henderson fire department explains why

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The wildfires that are spreading in Los Angeles have caused many to worry about possible risks we have in Southern Nevada.

The Henderson Fire Department wants to assure residents here that the fire danger is not the same even if we have a similar climate.

FOX5 met with Henderson Fire Department Chief Scott Vivier, at Whitney Mesa trail.

“So we are able to get into areas like this and do prevention,” Vivier said.

Though Whitney Mesa trail has had brush fires before, Chief Vivier said the structures are not that close together.

According to Chief Vivier, prevention is key.

His team partners with U.S. Forestry and finds areas with dry vegetation and chops them down.

“They don’t just cut down on brush down, they cut the right type of brush down and protect other types of brush,” Vivier said.

One of the many advantages we have in Southern Nevada, are the main roads that are wide enough to act as a fire breaker.

For example, if a brush fire were to start at a park, the main road in front of it would act as a fire breaker to help stop the fire from spreading to buildings across the street.

The City of Henderson said through their yearly mitigation they found two areas in the Cadence community on their radar however, the risk is still very low.

Whereas, in the LA area, Chief Vivier said one of the contributing factors why the fire spread so quick is because of the amount of land between houses.

Here in southern Nevada, the fact that we have more urban areas than greenery help us.

“We make the joke that because we are desert a lot of dirt doesn’t burn, we have far more dirt and rocks than bushes,” Vivier said.

The Henderson Fire Department studies every single square foot of the city when they do their wildfire risk assessment.

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