How to Prevent Human-Caused Wildfires
About 85% of wildfires nationwide are human-caused, according to the Bureau of Land Management. In Nevada, common causes include vehicles and equipment, fireworks, open burning, campfires, and recreational shooting. Many of these fires are preventable with a few simple precautions.
If you spend time camping, hunting, fishing, riding OHVs, towing trailers, or enjoying public lands, preventing wildfire starts with understanding how everyday recreational activities can create a spark.
Most Human-Caused Wildfires Are Preventable
Wildfire prevention isn't just the responsibility of firefighters and land managers. Anyone spending time outdoors in a dry, wildfire prone environment has a role to play.
The good news is that preventing a wildfire often comes down to simple habits:
Check restrictions. Control your fire. Watch for sparks. Know your surroundings.
And before heading outdoors, always check the current fire restrictions for the specific land you're visiting. Restrictions can vary between BLM, Forest Service, state, county, and private lands and can change as conditions deteriorate.
1. Campfires: Make Sure They're Actually Out
Campfires are one of the most recognizable wildfire risks, and one of the easiest to prevent.
Before starting a campfire, verify that fires are permitted where you are. During periods of high fire danger, campfires may be prohibited entirely or limited to designated areas. Build your campfire in an open location and far from flammables.
When it's time to leave, don't just pour a little water on the flames and walk away.
Drown. Stir. Drown Again.
Pour plenty of water over the fire and ashes.
Stir the ashes and coals with a shovel.
Add more water.
Stir again.
Continue until everything is completely wet and cool.
If it's not cool to the touch, it's not out.
Don't bury a campfire with dirt or assume that because you can't see flames, the fire is extinguished. Hot coals and embers can remain capable of reigniting hours later. BLM specifically recommends drowning and stirring the fire until no heat remains.
2. Your Vehicle Can Start a Wildfire
A vehicle traveling through dry vegetation can provide exactly what a wildfire needs: heat + ignition + fuel.
Before heading out:
Maintain proper tire pressure.
Check tire condition and tread.
Watch for overheating brakes.
Make sure exhaust components are functioning properly.
Don't drive or park on dry grass or brush.
Never drag trailer safety chains on the ground.
That last one is especially important for anyone towing a camper, boat, or trailer.
A dragging chain can throw sparks directly into dry vegetation. BLM specifically identifies dragging chains and vehicle sparks as preventable wildfire risks.
OHV riders need to be especially careful.
Off-road motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, and other combustion-powered equipment should have properly functioning spark arresters where required. Avoid riding through tall, dry vegetation when fire danger is high.
3. Recreational Shooting Can Start Fires
This is particularly relevant in Northern Nevada and other Western states where recreational shooting is common.
Hot bullet fragments, exploding targets, and certain types of ammunition can ignite dry vegetation. During high fire danger, restrictions may prohibit recreational shooting entirely or prohibit specific ammunition and targets.
Before shooting:
Check current restrictions.
Know the rules for the specific land you're visiting.
Never use exploding targets where prohibited.
Avoid shooting when conditions are hot, dry, and windy.
Keep water and appropriate firefighting tools (shovel and fire extinguisher) available when permitted to shoot.
And remember: fire restrictions can change faster than your plans. Check before every trip.
4. Equipment Can Create a Spark
Chainsaws, grinders, welders, torches, mowers, and other equipment can generate enough heat or sparks to ignite vegetation.
If you're using equipment outdoors:
Follow applicable fire restrictions.
Keep the area around your work clear of dry vegetation.
Maintain spark arresters where required.
Keep firefighting equipment nearby.
Avoid spark-producing work during extreme fire conditions.
BLM fire restrictions specifically address welding, grinding, open-flame equipment, and combustion engines because of their potential to start fires.
Sometimes the safest decision is simply wait for better conditions.
5. Fireworks and Burning: Just Don't
Fireworks are an obvious ignition source in dry conditions, and many public lands prohibit them year-round.
Open burning, burn piles, debris burning, charcoal, and other forms of outdoor fire may also be restricted or prohibited depending on location and conditions.
Never assume that because something is legal in one location, it's legal a few miles away.
Know the rules where you are before you start.
6. Smoking Can Start a Wildfire Too
Never throw a cigarette or other smoking material onto the ground.
If smoking outdoors where it is permitted, use an appropriate receptacle or a completely barren area free of vegetation and other combustible materials. Some current fire restrictions specifically limit smoking to enclosed vehicles, buildings, developed recreation sites, or cleared areas.
Carry the Tools to Stop a Mistake From Becoming a Wildfire
Even when you're careful, accidents happen.
If you're recreating in an area where fire is permitted, consider carrying:
A shovel
A fire extinguisher
At least 5 gallons of water
BLM Nevada specifically recommends carrying these resources in case an unintentional fire starts.
If you accidentally start a fire, call 911 immediately and provide the exact location. Only attempt to suppress a small fire if you can do so safely and without putting yourself in danger.
Don't try to be a hero. A small fire can become an uncontrollable wildfire remarkably quickly.
Think Before You Spark
For those of us who spend a lot of time outdoors, wildfire prevention doesn't mean giving up the activities we enjoy.
It means being responsible for the conditions we're enjoying them in.
Before you light it, shoot it, park it, tow it, or start it, ask yourself:
Could this create a spark, and where would that spark land?
In Northern Nevada and other dry, wildfire-prone regions, that five-second question could prevent the next wildfire.
Protecting Your Home Starts Before the Fire
Preventing a wildfire is the first line of defense. But if you live in a wildfire prone area, it's also important to prepare your home for the possibility that a fire will occur nearby.
Defensible space and fire hardening work together to reduce the chance that your home ignites when exposed to flames and embers.
Fire Hard Property Defense helps homeowners identify and address vulnerabilities through defensible space, ember-resistant vents, gutter protection, and other fire hardening improvements.
The best time to prepare your home isn't when the fire is approaching. It's now.
