Fire ban eased as wildland season winds down

RENO - Nobody's saying Nevada is safe from this year's wildland fire season. But it's getting there.

Rain, snow and cooler temperatures have prompted state and federal agencies to lift the fire restrictions that have been in place since the middle of July and early August.

As of Saturday, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and the Nevada Division of Forestry will allow campfires, smoking and off-highway vehicles in areas where they usually are permitted.

Open burns also are allowed to resume in NDF fire districts with permits required and air quality restrictions in place.

That ends restrictions that began in mid-July in western Nevada and in the Lake Tahoe Basin and since the first week of August in Elko, Eureka and White Pine counties in eastern Nevada.

Restrictions remain in effect in southern Nevada's Spring Mountain National Recreational Area and Mt. Charleston Fire Protection District because of persistent dry conditions.

So far this year, fires have burned some 646,200 acres of federal, state, local and private land in Nevada - one-tenth the amount destroyed in last year's dreadful season, the worst in recorded history.

Officials warned that this week's relaxation of the restrictions is not a blank check for outdoor burning. They say wildland fires will remain a threat until significant rain or snow arrive.

They also said absolutely no fireworks are permitted, nor may tires, petroleum products, wires, magnesium of other hazardous material including gunpowder or explosives be burned on public lands. Some holders of mining or grazing permits are exempted.