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INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — When Gov. Jim Gibbons signed Senate Bill 94 into law this week, he gave teeth to Nevada's basin fire districts.
Instead of providing defensible space evaluations and hoping residents and businesses follow through on their suggestions, fire districts can now lean on state law to enforce their recommendations.
We think the law is crucial to fire mitigation in Incline and Crystal Bay, an insurance policy against folks who don't quite get defensible space.
Give credit to the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District — for years they've worked tirelessly to educate the public on the importance of clearing defensible space around their homes. It's a campaign which has earned the admiration of other basin fire agencies.
But education only reaches so far and where the schooling doesn't take, sometimes a firm hand will.
We especially hope the message sent by Gibbons reaches second homeowners who don't see the need to protect a residence they call home infrequently.
Untended homes pose a major risk to neighbors who have done their defensible space, putting entire neighborhoods at risk because one person chooses not to act responsibly.
Part of living in the West is wildfire — and we saw firsthand the destruction and heartache caused by the Angora fire in 2007 on the South Shore.
This bill recognizes that reality and makes living responsibly with fire the law of the land. To ignore defensible space in the first place was foolish, dangerously ignorant at best. To do so now is illegal, a wise move by our state government.
Instead of providing defensible space evaluations and hoping residents and businesses follow through on their suggestions, fire districts can now lean on state law to enforce their recommendations.
We think the law is crucial to fire mitigation in Incline and Crystal Bay, an insurance policy against folks who don't quite get defensible space.
Give credit to the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District — for years they've worked tirelessly to educate the public on the importance of clearing defensible space around their homes. It's a campaign which has earned the admiration of other basin fire agencies.
But education only reaches so far and where the schooling doesn't take, sometimes a firm hand will.
We especially hope the message sent by Gibbons reaches second homeowners who don't see the need to protect a residence they call home infrequently.
Untended homes pose a major risk to neighbors who have done their defensible space, putting entire neighborhoods at risk because one person chooses not to act responsibly.
Part of living in the West is wildfire — and we saw firsthand the destruction and heartache caused by the Angora fire in 2007 on the South Shore.
This bill recognizes that reality and makes living responsibly with fire the law of the land. To ignore defensible space in the first place was foolish, dangerously ignorant at best. To do so now is illegal, a wise move by our state government.
