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Elko County fire staff detail high school wildland training and seasonal hiring; fire season outlook tabled
Summary
Fire district staff reported on pre-season training, a high school wildland program that produced seasonal hires, and a higher grass-fire potential north of Interstate 80; the meteorologist presentation was postponed to the end of the month.
District staff reported the fire district is well into pre-season training and said the district’s high school wildland program has become a source of seasonal hires.
Curtis, operations staff, said the district is three-quarters through preseason wildland refresher training and has held coordination meetings with the Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service to align resources and communications. “We’ve had our preseason meetings with BLM, NDF and the Forest Service just to get a game plan together of what everybody has available and our preseason radio communications meetings and that’s all going well so far,” Curtis said.
Curtis clarified questions from commissioners about the high school program: the district provides about 45 minutes to an hour per day of instructor time under a grant arrangement rather than a full-day firefighter assigned to the school; other instruction is provided by EMS organizations and federal/state cooperators. He said the program has led to hires: “Last year we hired about eight of them as seasonals…and BLM hired some and NDF hired some,” Curtis said, adding students leave high school with certifications that make them competitive for seasonal firefighting positions.
The board tabled the scheduled fire season outlook presentation because the meteorologist and a Great Basin Coordination Center representative had a scheduling conflict; staff said that briefing will be rescheduled for the end of the month. Separately, Matt, Fire Chief, said outlooks indicate higher grass growth this year and that areas north of Interstate 80 show elevated fire potential. “This year the outlook is showing everything north of I–80 is going to be in high fire potential with the grass growth and the crop that’s out there,” Matt said.
Commissioners thanked staff for station tours and for on-the-ground familiarization with funded projects. No formal action was taken on the training items; the fire season outlook was postponed for a later briefing.
