By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
Residents in Mesquite and Moapa Valley have been watching the smoky rising from the Virgin Mountains over the past week.
On Monday, Sept. 21 at approximately 6:27 p.m., reports began coming in about the Virgin Peak, being on fire. After investigation, the fire was determined to have started by dry lightning in the area. Almost immediately residents of both communities noticed the smoke billowing up from the mountainside.
Captain Spencer Lewis of Mesquite Fire and Rescue reported that the City had received updates from the BLM on Tuesdays that the fire was burning in the Virgin Wilderness Area. Tortoise and bighorn sheep habitat was thought to be impacted by the blaze. In addition, radio repeater and communications sites were being threatened. Because of how rapidly the fire was spreading, ground resources had been pulled off the line at that time.
BLM Media Specialist, Kirsten Cannon reported on Wednesday that suppression efforts were ongoing from the air.
“We had super scooper and fire boss aircraft join the single engine air tankers today in suppression efforts by dropping water from out of Lake Mead just south of Echo Bay,” Cannon said in a statement.
While the fire was still spreading, no structures were threatened and no evacuations were put into effect, Cannon said.
Tyler Hecht, BLM Southern Nevada Acting Fire Management Officer, made another announcement about the conditions of the fire and area of concern.
“The fire is in steep rocky terrain and firefighters are dedicated to slowing the wind and terrain driven runs and increasing containment,” Hecht said. “However, firefighter and public safety is a top priority.”
On Thursday, Cannon reported that the Virgin Mountain Fire was mapped and had affected 1,564 acres.
“The east side of the fire has crossed into the BLM Arizona Strip District by five miles,” Cannon said.
Joining the fight were also Single Engine Airtanker units (SEATs) and Very Large Tankers which had the capability of delivering up to 8,000 gallons of retardant. This helped cover the ridge lines with retardant while the super scoopers and fire boss aircraft continued to minimize the fire by dropping water on it.
As of Monday, Sept. 28, Cannon again reported, “Currently the fire is about 20 percent contained. The heavy winds over the weekend did not help in the firefighting efforts. We hope we can keep it contained within the area it currently is in. We definitely need the cooperation of the weather.”
The weather forecast for the area in the coming week is sunny and warm with winds ranging from 3 mph up to 29 mph.
