Defensible space and fire mitigation in Spanish Springs, NV

Spanish Springs is a young community, with a median home built in 2002 and about 92% of homes owner-occupied. Its risk to homes ranks higher than 98.6% of US communities and 88% of Nevada communities.

At a glance

• Risk to homes higher than 98.6% of US communities
• No buildings in the minimal exposure zone
• Reservoir Fire (1999, 6,163 acres) centred about 3.7 miles away
• About 9.2 inches of precipitation a year at the Spanish Springs station

What does zero percent minimal exposure mean?

The Forest Service counts about 8,100 buildings in Spanish Springs. It rates roughly one in three as directly exposed, meaning wildland vegetation next to the building could carry flame to it. The other two in three are indirectly exposed, meaning embers or a burning neighbor could light them. None is rated minimal.

In practical terms, a house in the middle of a subdivision here still needs its first 5 feet in order, and a house on the edge needs the full 100.

The valley is ringed by old fire perimeters

National Interagency Fire Center records show 26 perimeters of 300 acres or more centred within about 10 miles since 1980. Among them: the Sparks Fire of 1983 at 25,541 acres, the Pah Rah Fire of 1999 at 10,603 acres, the Reservoir Fire of 1999 at 6,163 acres, the Winnemucca Ranch Fire of 2017 at 4,799 acres and the Prater Fire of 2017 at 2,700 acres. The closest centre, Reservoir, is about 3.7 miles from the middle of the community.

What does the work look like on a Spanish Springs lot?

About 95% of homes here are detached single-family houses (American Community Survey), and they are recent, so the trees are still small. The fire work is at ground level.

• Junipers, sage and other high-hazard shrubs removed from the first 5 feet
• Dry weeds and tumbleweeds cleared from fence lines and corners
• Shrub beds from 5 to 30 feet thinned into separated islands
• Unirrigated ground at the back of larger lots mowed
• Young trees pruned for roof clearance

When is a machine the right tool?

When there is open ground to cover. Where a lot runs back to an unlandscaped section of sagebrush or weeds, the Bobcat T870 with the brush mower covers it far faster than hand tools. Our page on lot clearing and brush mowing in Spanish Springs has the detail, and mastication vs brush mowing vs hand clearing compares the methods.

A dry valley floor

The Spanish Springs weather station, less than a mile from the centre of the community, averages 9.18 inches of precipitation a year (NOAA 1991-2020 normals). Whatever grows without irrigation is dry by summer. Wood heat is the main heat source in about 3% of homes, so a few yards will have a woodpile, and the Living With Fire guide wants woodpiles out of the 5 feet next to the house.