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Davis Creek Regional Park staff report restoration progress a year after wildfire; day-use reopened
Summary
Park staff described restoration and community support since the Davis fire last September, which burned 5,824 acres and destroyed park infrastructure. County rangers estimated about $2 million in replacement costs, described extensive volunteer-driven plantings and hazard-tree removal, and said the day-use side of the park has reopened while the
Washoe County park staff reported Sept. 28 on restoration and reopening steps at Davis Creek Regional Park following the Davis fire last September.
Park Ranger Nick Steuer said the wind-driven blaze — caused by an improperly extinguished illegal campfire — burned a total of about 5,824 acres across private, state and federal land and destroyed roughly 118 acres of the park. The park lost the ranger residence, the outdoor amphitheater and key electrical infrastructure; county staff estimate at least $2,000,000 in replacement costs for structures and equipment.
The nut graf: county staff credited a sustained community and interagency response for enabling recovery work; a phased reopening has restored day-use access while campground and equestrian facilities remain closed pending infrastructure replacement.
Steuer described a large volunteer effort: a native shrub planting in November that recruited roughly 50 volunteers to plant about 700 native seedlings; a native-seeding effort that seeded about 25 acres with donated seed; multiple Eagle Scout projects to rebuild park features; hazard-tree mitigation led by Nevada Division of Forestry and local fire agencies; donations of firewood and material; and community fundraising that raised just over $6,000 for restoration. He said Moana Nursery donated 100 Jeffrey pine seedlings for an October planting focused on the eastern edge of the campground.
County efforts included hazard-tree removal, chipping and selective retention of burned timber for soil stabilization or milling, aerial reseeding and coordination of herbicide and reseeding treatments with Nevada Division of Forestry. The park opened the day-use area to the public several weeks before the meeting; the campground and equestrian lot remain closed while electrical and other infrastructure are designed and rebuilt.
Steuer highlighted outreach and education: high school biology classes and university fire-ecology students used the site for transect surveys; a junior-ranger event brought families into the park while it remained closed for public learning; and local artists have begun creating permanent interpretive pieces from burned park artifacts.
Steuer asked the public to remain patient with closures, to follow fire-safety practices and to consider volunteering or donating; he described the restoration as a multi-year effort that includes continued interagency coordination.
