Dayton is 7.3 miles from our yard, the closest town on our sheets after Carson City itself. The tables below set it against Lyon County, Nevada and the United States, and add the Forest Service ranking, the three nearest NOAA stations and the large fires mapped within about 10 miles. One quirk to know first: none of the three stations is close enough in elevation to stand in for Dayton's weather.
Newer than the county, riskier than the county
The median home was built in 2002, against 1998 for Lyon County. Homes built before 1980 are 10.4%, against 22.2% for the county, and 55.7% date from 2000 or later. Mobile homes are 3.6%, where the county has 17.8%. Single-family detached homes are 88.6%. The median home value, $433,200, is above the county's $366,100.
On fire, the gap goes the other way. Dayton ranks above 98.9% of US communities and above 90.2% of Nevada communities for risk to homes; Lyon County ranks 93.0% and 37.5%. Wildfire likelihood is 99.0% nationally. Of 6,702 counted buildings, 27.4% are directly exposed and 72.6% indirectly, with none in the minimal zone.
The fire list
Ten records fall within about 10 miles. The closest center is the Industrial fire of 2007 (428 acres, 3.4 miles). The largest are Linehan in 2006 (5,863 acres, 5.9 miles), Moundhouse in 1983 (2,345 acres, 5.7 miles) and Six Mile 2 in 2006 (1,733 acres, 6.4 miles). Only one is since 2015, a 2020 fire of 306 acres.
The table shows no recent run of large fires close in, so the rank rests on exposure and likelihood, not on recent history.
Why no weather figures are quoted
The nearest station is Virginia City, 6.0 miles away, but at 6,340 feet it sits almost 2,000 feet above Dayton's 4,384 feet. The next is Carson City, 12.1 miles away, and then Incline Village, 18.7 miles away at 6,356 feet. Our rule is a station within 8 miles and within about 1,200 feet of elevation; none qualifies, so we do not offer a Dayton snowfall or rainfall figure.
For context only, the Carson City station (9.34 inches of precipitation, 14.0 inches of snow) is 12 miles away and about 380 feet higher.
What it means for the work
New subdivisions mean young trees, and the calls are often early trimming, stump grinding and lot clearing. With a rank this high, defensible space is the job that most cleanly answers the fire rows. The Central Lyon County fire district page covers local programs.
The drive from our yard is 7.3 miles, about 12 minutes without traffic.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates (pulled October 1, 2026)
- USDA Forest Service: Wildfire Risk to Communities (tabular download dated April 15, 2026) (pulled October 1, 2026)
- NOAA NCEI: U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (pulled October 1, 2026)
- National Interagency Fire Center: InterAgency Fire Perimeter History and WFIGS perimeters (pulled October 1, 2026)