Local ranchers serving as liaisons helped incoming fire crews navigate terrain and resources during large fires like the Cottonwood Peak Fire

By Lydia Snow
Elko Daily Free Press

ELKO, Nev. — Ranchers and firefighters in Elko County say a locally developed rancher-liaison program has improved communication and fire response during major wildland fires, particularly when outside firefighting teams are brought into Northeastern Nevada.

The program was discussed Thursday at the Cattlemen’s Update at Great Basin College, where ranchers and fire officials reflected on the program’s origins and its role during large-scale fires.

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Jon Griggs, ranch manager for Maggie Creek Ranch, said the program grew out of difficult fire seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“The late ’90s, early 2000s were big fire years for Elko County,” Griggs said. He noted a major fire in 2000 that burned south of Carlin, threatened ranches near the South Fork Reservoir and destroyed large areas of rangeland.

“A management team was brought in to manage that fire,” Griggs said. “One thing that they struggled with was communicating with the community at large.”

Griggs said the lack of communication left ranchers and residents frustrated and placed local fire professionals in a difficult position once the outside team left.

“From that fire, the fire community here, along with the ranching community, decided that there needs to be communication up front before fires happen,” he said.

That decision led to the creation of the rancher-liaison program, which relies on local ranchers to communicate directly with fire operations and provide on-the-ground knowledge of terrain, access points and resources at risk.

“So, 25 or 26 years later, it’s been a pretty successful program,” Griggs said.

He said Nevada wildland firefighters aim to contain fires within 24 hours, but drought, heavy vegetation and lightning storms can quickly overwhelm local resources.

“When Elko was on fire, the resources that we’re asking for are coming from maybe east of the Mississippi,” Griggs said. “They’re showing up from a long way away and they’re not used to how we do business here.”

Fires in northeastern Nevada can move tens of miles in a single day and burn tens of thousands of acres, he said, creating challenges for crews unfamiliar with the landscape.

Most rancher liaisons, Griggs said, are members of volunteer fire departments and have decades of experience on the land.

“They know the piece of ground like the back of their hand,” he said.

Tuscarora rancher Sam Mori, a member of the liaison program, said multiple fires often ignite during a single storm, stretching local crews thin.

“When a storm comes through, it starts several fires, and all of a sudden their resource requirements are starting to get scattered,” Mori said.

When outside teams arrive, Mori said there is often a pause as new personnel get oriented.

“That’s where, as a liaison, our responsibility becomes way more important,” he said. “We can shorten the time that nothing’s happening as much as we can.”

Mori described the Cottonwood Peak Fire, when an external team arrived as fire activity increased.

“I called Elko County Fire Chief Matt Petersen and asked him if he’s ever kicked a team off of a fire,” Mori said. “That’s how serious this got.”

As communication improved, Mori said, fire activity increased dramatically within two days.

“One of the reasons for that was the communication and the involvement of the ranching community,” he said. “These guys were asking us all of a sudden what they needed to be doing.”

Petersen said firefighting strategies commonly used in other parts of the country do not always translate to Nevada.

“In places outside of Nevada, they want to put fire in a box,” Petersen said. “When they come to Nevada and do that, they burn up 15, 20 boxes before their last box catches it.”

Petersen recalled an incident in the late 2000s when a team from South Carolina arrived to manage a fire.

During the initial briefing, the team’s operations chief asked how fires are fought in Nevada.

“He said, ‘How y’all fight fire in this country? I heard something about anchor, flank and pinch,’” Petersen said.

“That sent a chill down a lot of people’s spines, because that’s all we know,” he said.

Petersen said, “Our guys have figured out, we have to tell them everything. We can’t just hand the keys over and say, good luck.”

Petersen said the question highlighted the importance of clear communication between local crews, ranchers and incoming teams.

“He can’t put this fire in a box,” Petersen said. “We’re talking about thousands of acres an hour, potentially.”

He said the rancher-liaison program helps bridge those gaps and ensures firefighting efforts reflect local conditions.

“This level of communication is what makes fire teamwork successful,” Petersen said.

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