According to the Forest Service, a fire northeast of Pahrump is now raging on more than 230 acres
According to the U.S. Forest Service, a lightning-sparked fire northeast of Pahrump had spread to more than 230 acres by Sunday evening.
Around noon on Sunday, the agency said in a tweet that three lightning-sparked fires had occurred in the Mount Charleston area and that the Trough Springs fire was estimated to be around 100 acres in size.
The Trough Springs fire, first reported around 1 p.m. Saturday, is in the Wheeler Pass area near Pahrump.
“Aircraft initially dropped fire retardant to slow the spread of the fire and reduce the intense heat so ground crews could access it,” the US Forest Service said around noon on Tuesday. “Overnight, the fire burned within the controlled area created by the fire retardant.”
Aerial mapping of the #TroughSpringsFirewhich is actually 236 acres in size, but is still within the controlled area created by the first fire lines. The fire is located in the Wheeler Pass area northeast of #Pahrump, #Nevada. @GoMtCharleston pic.twitter.com/ZXWTItIH9U
— Humboldt Toiyabe NF (@HumboldtToiyabe) 12 August 2024
Firefighters built and fortified “control lines” around the Trough Springs fire throughout Sunday, and the Air Force also continued to deploy resources.
The US Forest Service announced at around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday that an emergency closure of the area had been imposed to protect the public and firefighters.
In its update on X on Sunday evening, the agency said the Trough Springs fire is “within the controlled area created by the first fire suppression lines.” The expansion of the area – by 100 to 236 – was due to better mapping, the tweet said.
The other two fires discussed in the US Forest Service’s original tweet, the Jaybird and Wilson 1 fires, were “contained and under control” as of midday Sunday.
Clark County Fire Rescue has also deployed water tankers in the Las Vegas Valley to assist with firefighting efforts in the Spring Mountains, the county said Monday morning. CCFD helicopters are also using heliwells to fill baskets and drop them over the fire.
The Jaybird Fire, first reported around 3 p.m. Saturday northwest of Cold Creek, was estimated to be 32 acres in size. The Wilson 1 Fire was estimated to be less than an acre in size. It was discovered around 7 p.m. Friday in the upper part of Lovell Canyon.
