Bureau of Land Management firefighters are working to contain a wildfire east of the I-80 freeway Cosgrave rest area, according to BLM spokesperson Terah Malsam. The blaze started Sunday night at around 11 p. m. and had reached about 830 acres with 60 percent containment as of Monday afternoon.
The fire is burning in the East Range on both pubic and private land in Pershing County but no structures were threatened, Malsam said Monday. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
The Imlay Volunteer Fire Department assisted BLM fire crews with the initial attack under a Unified Command between the fire agencies according to Malsam. Current BLM resources on scene are one battalion chief, 11 fire engines, one water truck, two SEATs (Single Engine Airtankers) and one Nevada Division of Forestry hand crew.
Malsam said the estimated time for full containment of the White Horse Fire would be Monday night at 8 p. m. while the estimated time for full control was Tuesday morning at 10 a. m.
On Friday, August 12, the BLM Winnemucca District and the USFS Santa Rosa Ranger District implemented fire restrictions on public land under the two agencies jurisdiction until further notice. There's plenty of flammable fuel in terms of cheat grass and other weeds as a result of moisture that arrived earlier in the year. Now, those weeds are rapidly drying out with the hot weather and little rain.
“The wet winter and spring made for denser fine fuels this summer throughout northern Nevada,” said Malsam in last week's press release. “The combination of fine, flashy fuels that are highly ignitable and exposure to human-caused ignitions create a potentially dangerous situation for firefighters, the public, property and our natural resources.”
The fire restrictions prohibit all fires and campfires outside of developed campsites or picnic areas, smoking except in an enclosed vehicle, campground or picnic area and prohibits driving vehicles or other motorized equipment off existing paved, gravel or dirt roads.
Welding or operating an acetylene torch with open flame, explosives and fireworks are also prohibited.
During the period of fire restrictions, recreational shooters are not permitted to use tracer rounds, steel-core ammunition or binary explosive targets according to the public notification of fire restrictions.
Violators of the fire restrictions will be “aggressively cited” for Class B federal misdemeanors and subject to possible fines of up to $10,000, imprisonment or both. Those found guilty of causing a wildfire could be held responsible for damage, suppression costs and any injuries caused by the fire.
For more information or clarification of the fire restrictions, call the BLM Winnemucca District Office at 775-623-1500 or the USFS Santa Rosa Ranger District at 775-289-5025, extension #4.
