UNCE NEWS RELEASE
Nevada Wildfire Awareness Week will kick off April 28 at Mills Park in Carson City.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and gives you a chance to talk to your local firefighters, learn how to use a fire extinguisher, discuss insurance questions and visit with vendors displaying products and services.
There will also be activities for children. They can meet Smokey Bear, visit the Fire Safety House and play at the Ember House, which illustrates how flying embers can be lodged in various places on your house. They can also explore firefighting helicopters and fire engines.
There will also be prizes and raffles taking place during the event. You can win trees and plants, a weather radio, four hours of vegetation mastication work, a one-night stay at the Silverland Inn & Suites in Virginia City and dog obedience training.
Food will be available for purchase from Warren Engine Company No. 1, an all-volunteer fire company that supports the Carson City Fire Department.
Activities continue the following week at various locations around the state.
Homeowners will have several opportunities to rid their landscapes of highly flammable ornamental junipers. These bushes, referred to as “little green gas cans” by firefighters, can ignite from windblown embers and burn intensely, so fire officials recommend you remove any located within 30 feet of your home.
Biomass collection sites where you can drop off your uprooted junipers have been set up through the end of June in Silver Lake, Spanish Springs and two locations Reno. If you drop the bushes off at one of the collection sites on April 29 between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., you’ll receive a coupon for a replacement shrub from Moana Nursery which is valid from April 29 to May 5.
Biomass collection sites include:
- Red Rock Area: Silver Lake Volunteer Fire Station, 11525 Red Rock Road
- Spanish Springs: 470 Rockwell Blvd.
- Virginia Foothills: East end of Kenneth Drive
- Washoe Valley: Truckee Meadows Fire Station, 1240 Eastlake Blvd.
There will also be one-day Junk the Junipers locations on April 29, including:
- Galaxy Theater – South Lot behind Casino Fandango, Carson City NV 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
- Truckee Meadows Fire Station & other locations, Washoe Valley NV
For more details about these and other Wildfire Awareness Week events, go to http://www.livingwithfire.info/wildfire-awareness-week.
