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Pyramid Lake tribal council ends Gerlach fire contract; county, chiefs promise six‑month continuity while exploring alternatives
Summary
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Council voted to end its contract to provide fire services to Gerlach. Pyramid Lake and Washoe County officials said services will continue through June 30 while officials pursue mutual aid, alternative providers and grant funding; county managers earlier said ARPA funds were already used to reduce service brownouts.
Don Pelt, fire chief, told the Gerlach Citizens Advisory Board that on Jan. 3 the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Council voted to end the tribe’s contract to provide fire and emergency services to Gerlach and Washoe County. Pelt said he “protested as much as I possibly could” at the council meeting and that the decision was driven in part by the tribe’s budget cuts and a perception among some council members that tribal resources were being used for non‑tribal members.
Chief Pelt said the tribe and county negotiated an extension so the contract will continue through midnight June 30 — the end of the county fiscal year — giving county and local officials time to find alternative arrangements. “We are going to continue the contract till midnight, June 30th,” Pelt said at the meeting.
Pelt described service impacts already in…
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