More than 100 fires burned through the Tahoe basin and Truckee Meadows this year, including the recent Little Valley Fire.
But as Reno Public Radio’s Noah Glick reports, a network of cameras is helping to reduce the impact and damage caused by these blazes.
As the Hot Pot Fire near Battle Mountain and Winnemucca gained momentum over the summer, crews were able to get much needed air resources because of video evidence showing a rapid growth of the blaze.
That video came from one of more than 20 cameras stationed around the Truckee Meadows, part of a partnership between the University of Nevada, Reno’s Seismological Laboratory and the Tahoe Prosperity Center, which helps raise funds for the project.
Heidi Hill Drum is CEO of the center, which supports Lake Tahoe’s economy, community and environment.
“There were so many other little spot fires that happened, mostly on the South Shore this summer, that were very suspicious," she says, "And if not for those cameras, who knows how many of them might have gotten out of control.”
With federal and state agencies monitoring fire danger on public lands, this project helps fill in the gaps for some of the more populated and vulnerable communities in Northern Nevada.
Noah Glick, Reno Public Radio News.