The yurt at Water Canyon is closed for the rest of the year following an accidental fire that damaged its porch and surrounding area.
The yurt on the trailhead in Water Canyon is a popular place for those that love Northern Nevada's great outdoors—hiking, biking, camping and more, but a recent fire has closed it for the remainder of the season.
The Northern Nevada Recreation Coalition (NNRC) is a community organization comprised of volunteers that love recreation and are responsible for putting up and taking down the yurt each year.
NNRC President Jim Rackley said that the fire is believed to have been caused by someone trying to clean the firebox on the stove inside the yurt, dumping the hot coals over the handrail of the platform it sits on, and catching the firewood stored underneath on fire for some time before Feb. 3 when it was discovered.
“None of us think that it was intentional because if it was intentional, they would’ve just started the whole thing on fire. Someone just made a mistake,” explained Rackley.
The yurt is essentially a large canvas wall tent with a wood stove inside and a deck outside. It has been put up by the Coalition on the first of November and taken down in May for the past 12 years.
Rackley said that snow has made it too difficult to get to the yurt with a vehicle in order to take it down now, but the Coalition will be taking it down for the season and rebuilding the deck as soon as the weather permits.
The rebuild should be completed in a long weekend late this spring or early summer, according to Rackley, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has tentatively offered to purchase the materials needed to rebuild the deck.
“For a small group operating off of donations and a lot of self-funding by the board, that could be a God Send. Fingers crossed,” said Rackley in an email.
Hundreds of people have enjoyed the yurt since its beginning and its guest book is full of comments from those who have visited it from all over the country. The site is even registered with the Atlanta trail system.
“It just always amazes me the number of people and where they come from [that visit the yurt],” said Rackley.
It is so popular in fact that a second location is also in the works with the BLM. Rackley said the NNRC is currently working to get the permitting necessary.
“We've got this permitting process started with the BLM for a second site upstream from there, east of here towards the head of the canyon. At this point we're getting enough usage that there are times when you show up and it's full and the deck is full, and the fire area is full. There's more need there for just that one yurt,” Rackley.
The Coalition often organized recreation projects and hikes to the yurt through their Facebook page, Northern Nevada Recreation Coalition, and will likely be asking for volunteers to help with the deck build. Those interested in volunteering with the group or becoming a member should reach out on their page.