When multiple agencies responded to a fire in the Warmouth Addition on June 23, the quick action and mutual aid stopped a fire that could have been much worse. The fire, which apparently started on Cottonwood Lane burned on Walther and Buckley Lane property. Coordination and cooperation between Winnemucca Rural, City of Winnemucca, BLM, and Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) firefighters was as good as it's ever been according to two local firefighters.
Although the Warmouth Addition is technically inside the limits of the City of Winnemucca, it has never been annexed, and is thus county property. Dispatch called the Rural Fire Department, which is responsible for firefighting in that area, but also called the city fire department because confirmation wasn't received that Rural firefighters were responding.
BLM was also called and turned out to assist, and the NDF truck and firefighters stayed on scene for a couple of hours after the fire was essentially out, to watch over flare-ups.
Winnemucca Rural Fire Department volunteer JP Marden, designated public information officer for this fire, said that coordination was phenomenal and made it possible to stop the fire's spread in a densely populated area that could have resulted in much higher losses.
"I hate to see anything burn," said Marden, "but to my knowledge we didn't lose any habitable structures." And, although no firefighters or people in the area were injured, Marden said how much he appreciated the presence of Humboldt General Hospital's EMS personnel.
Winnemucca City Fire Department volunteer Bud Vetter also specifically mentioned the cooperation between firefighting agencies. "Winnemucca Rural Fire Department had their big water tender spraying the mobile home, and we were able to use our trucks to help fill their trucks," said Vetter.
Law enforcement from both the Winnemucca Police Department and Humboldt County Sheriff's Office helped control access to the area for the protection of both firefighters and area residents.
The property lost belonged to Leonard Lyons, who said no one lived in the single-wide trailer that burned when the field caught on fire. In addition to the mobile homes, a garage with cars in it, sheds, a travel trailer, and miscellaneous other items stored in the area all burned.
One of the items that burned was old railroad ties, which Marden said contained creosote. "I could tell by the smell that we were dealing with creosote," Marden commented. Creosote is the name used for a variety of chemical mixtures used to treat rail road ties and other wood products. Marden said repeated exposure to burning creosote is a concern because it increases the risk of lung cancer.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Marden renewed the plea for caution and care, and voiced some frustration with those who don't seem to understand or care that the fire danger is extreme. "If you drive around, you'll see some people who work very hard to keep their land cleaned up and put fire breaks around their property and then you see others who have cheat grass and weeds growing right under their decks; they just don't seem to understand the situation."[[In-content Ad]]
