Firefighter Shane Kelly has spent nearly two decades defending Nevada from wildfires. As the fire prevention lead for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service’s Southern Nevada district, the Winnemucca native is now doing his part to equip the state against what’s projected to be one of the most impactful fire seasons in recent memory.
“In Southern Nevada, our fire season starts earlier than the rest of the state by about one to two months,” Kelly says. “We get the problem first, meaning we’re sometimes the litmus test for how the rest of the state is going to look later.”
In 2026, that litmus test is already reading hot. In a May 20 briefing, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo and state officials warned that current conditions—driven by ongoing drought and record-low mountain snowpack—are likely to lead to what State Forester Ryan Shane dubbed “a pretty unprecedented year.”
A heightened risk
According to a June 1 report from the National Interagency Fire Center, fuels across the southern Great Basin region, which includes Nevada, are close to record dry levels, with fire dangers running four to six weeks ahead of schedule. Nationally, more than 2.4 million acres had already burned by the end of May—nearly double the 10-year average.
Nevada’s wildfire season—which typically lasts from May through October—looks poised to arrive earlier and hit harder. A warmer winter led to statewide snowpack readings that in March were just 10% to 30% of normal levels. This, coupled with consecutive years of near-or-above average rainfall, has led wild grasses and shrubs to grow quicker and dry out faster, especially in Northern Nevada. The resulting landscape is primed to burn.
In Southern Nevada, where vegetation is less abundant, Kelly says grasses are growing “in places [they] haven’t been in the past.”
“Anytime you’ve got a consistent fuel bed of grass like that, you’re going to have problems, even with just a light wind,” he adds.
In late May, Southern Nevada enacted Stage 1 fire restrictions, prohibiting open fires, fireworks and using certain equipment on public lands. By then, Nevada had already surpassed 75 wildfires. According to Shane, 579 fires consumed 450,000 acres statewide in 2025. More than half were caused by humans.
Federal overhaul and job cuts
Nevada’s fire management network is simultaneously navigating additional challenges that have nothing to do with weather.
The first is a sweeping reorganization of the federal wildfire response system itself. In January, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced it was establishing the U.S. Wildland Fire Service—consolidating firefighting duties previously shared by the BLM, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs under one roof.
Kelly’s team—which handles fire prevention and investigation for a larger Southern Nevada district that also includes separate hazardous fuels and fire suppression staff—is now operating under that new structure.
“The team is smaller than you think. I worked for the BLM—what we’re now calling legacy BLM—before the Wildland Fire Service came to be,” Kelly tells the Weekly. “Historically, my team is only me and two others, and we investigate all the wildland fires on federal lands in Southern Nevada.
“As the [Wildland Fire Service] continues through this transition, we expect the investigations staff to grow [or] merge, but we have not made it to that phase yet, and I am not aware of a timeline.”
Not yet included in the Wildland Fire Service is the U.S. Forest Service, which requires Congressional approval to merge with the new agency. In March, the Trump administration relocated the Forest Service’s headquarters from Washington D.C. to Salt Lake City.
The workforce is another issue. According to an April analysis from Prospect Partners and Hawkeye Strategies, the Trump administration has cut more than 6,000 public land jobs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Nevada alone. That includes 469 in Nevada last year—a reduction of nearly 25%—while Southern Nevada saw losses close to 50%. The cuts also included around 25% fewer emergency dispatchers, who are tasked with coordinating fire emergency response efforts.
In a June 2 wildfire briefing hosted by the Center for Western Priorities, 45-year wildland fire veteran Bobbie Scopa explained the larger impact of the thinning workforce.
“We think about the helicopters in the air and the hotshots cutting line,” Scopa said. “But the dispatchers, logistical support and incident management teams come from all parts of the land management agencies. They cannot be successful without having the whole organization behind them.”
In the same session, Andrea Delgado—former deputy regional forester with the U.S. Forest Service—said wildfire mitigation efforts like prescribed burning fell 35% in 2025 compared to 2024, amounting to 1.4 million fewer acres treated.
“This is the crucial work that creates defensible space,” Delgado said. “It’s what gives our wildland firefighters access and a fighting chance.”
Trumps’ U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz pushed back on that figure while testifying before Congress on June 4, telling legislators that treatment levels remained within their normal five-year range.
The long-term impact of staffing cuts remains to be seen.
Insurance woes
For Nevada homeowners, shifting insurance policies are another concern. In January, following the Nevada Legislature’s 2025 passage of Assembly Bill 376, the Silver State became the first in the country to allow insurance companies to omit wildfire coverage from standard homeowner policies.
According to the Nevada Division of Insurance, the number of homeowner policies that were canceled due to wildfire risk had already grown by 82% between 2022 and 2023, while declined applications rose from 2,400 to roughly 5,000.
Meanwhile, NV Energy—whose equipment manages wildfire risk along many of the state’s transmission corridors—is now seeking state approval of a proposed $500 million wildfire liability insurance fund that would be primarily footed by ratepayers. Southern Nevada residents could pay roughly 21 cents more per month under the plan.
Southern Nevada potential impacts
While Nevada’s major wildfires primarily occur further north, the smoke they produce can still significantly reduce air quality in the Valley. Beyond that, Kelly—who helps coordinate local fire response and prevention efforts with the Southern Nevada Fire Operations Group—says locals tend to underestimate other risks.
The communities he watches the closest include Mesquite, Logandale, Moapa, Blue Diamond and Pahrump. But fires can still break out within Vegas’ urban core, with Kelly pointing to a recent blaze near the Whitney Mesa Trailhead as an example.
More than 90% of wildfires in the region are caused by humans—above the national average of roughly 80%. Most are preventable, with Kelly citing off-road vehicle use and target shooting as leading causes.
“People often shoot into an area that has a lot of grass, and it’s
also rocky. That’s a worst-case scenario,” he says, advising those venturing onto public lands to keep a shovel and a few gallons of water on hand just in case.
Current fire restrictions and updates can be tracked at nevadafireinfo.org.
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