Elko County Fire Chief Matt Peterson told the Board of Fire Commissioners July 2 that public-safety power shutoffs implemented by utilities have reduced access to rural water supplies and complicated wildfire-response and prevention work underway across the county.

Peterson said Elko County is conducting vegetation- and infrastructure-focused mitigation in coordination with federal and state partners and with NV Energy under contract, but recent shutoffs by power companies affected areas “basically Kittredge Canyon all the way to River Ranch” and lasted about eight hours. “One of our concerns that we passed back to NV Energy is it does shut off some of our rural water supplies,” Peterson said.

The issue matters because Elko County’s ability to draft water for aircraft and ground crews can be constrained when pump systems lose power. Peterson said the district has staged portable tanks to provide drafting water and is mapping power-dependent irrigation pumps and other critical water sources so crew leaders and utilities can plan for temporary power options such as mobile generators or battery storage.

Peterson described ongoing mitigation work that NV Energy contracts support, including clearing near transmission lines that feed the 10 Mile area and lines that serve Carlin, Spring Creek and Lemoyne. He said crews are working “almost every day” alongside U.S. Forest Service projects and that the district has planned installations of fire-hose boxes in Tuscarora and Mountain City; Jackpot Fire Department will test and maintain those boxes.

Board members and staff raised questions about the role and responsibilities of different utilities. Peterson said he spoke with the chief executive of Wells Rural Electric Company, Thad Ballard, who told him he “had no interest in shutting off power to prevent fires.” Peterson and other participants said the county has learned that the legislature directed utilities to implement some shutoff protocols, and that implementation varies across providers. Amanda Osborne, Elko County manager, said the written county policy referenced in the agenda packet was not attached and that clarifications could be brought back to the board.

Peterson said Nevada has entered unified fire restrictions with the Bureau of Land Management and that open burning is closed; he anticipates burning might reopen in October if weather allows. He also said one Elko County crew was down supporting firefighting efforts near Ely and that smoke this morning came from an out-of-county fire.

No formal board action was taken on power shutoff procedures during the meeting. Commissioners directed staff to continue coordinating with NV Energy and partner agencies, to compile maps of critical water sources and to report back with policy or operational recommendations if needed.