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Washoe County officials set summer fire restrictions as public‑safety reports show rising service demand
Summary
Fire and law‑enforcement officials told the advisory group that the fire district has placed summer restrictions effective June 22 and that sheriff’s deputies and dispatchers are handling increased calls; the board approved the prior meeting minutes by voice vote.
Chair Bradley Young opened the meeting and members approved the minutes from their previous session after Shannon Martell moved to approve and Jason Evans seconded.
James, speaking for the local fire organization, summarized the department’s May activity and the summer safety measures. “For the month of May … we’ve got 215 incidents that occurred in this jurisdiction which averaged about seven incidents per day,” he said, and added that roughly 175 of those were medical responses. He announced that the district’s fire restrictions took effect June 22 and described bans on outdoor smoking, open welding, unattended campfires and parking on dry grass.
James introduced Deputy Chief Shannon Lewis as the successor to the retiring deputy chief; the change was noted with brief thanks from members. In response to member questions about stations and apparatus, Paul Augustine said the department is replacing engines and expects new Type I engines to enter service soon; staff also noted radio vehicles have a limited service life.
Lieutenant Nick Tone of the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office reported enforcement and dispatch figures. “For the month of June specifically, we had 48 BUI arrests. Most of those were specifically in [this] jurisdiction. Forty‑three of those 48 DUIs were specifically attributed to our deployment of that team,” he said, describing a targeted A‑Ride DUI enforcement deployment. Tone also said the dispatch center logged about 2,576 calls in the first quarter cited—up from an average of about 1,583 calls—an increase he attributed to population growth and more residents using county 311 and reporting tools.
Board members asked whether denser housing had driven call increases; Tone said apartments tend to produce higher volumes of service calls and confirmed the agency can provide address‑level breakdowns on request.
The meeting concluded with a reminder that there will be no August meeting and that the board will reconvene in September.
