Locations for Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue, Spring 2023 Green Waste Collection

Reno, NV. March 8, 2023 – Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue (TMFR) has announced two locations for the spring green waste disposal, accommodating residents that live in the south and north of the greater Reno-Sparks area.

Green Waste Collection Days offer the best alternative to creating defensible space and offer Washoe County residents to dispose of their dry and dead vegetation, shrubs, tree branches, and other wildland fuels to encourage the creation of defensible space to protect homes and property from wildfires.  This is a free event sponsored by the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District for all Washoe County residents, with support from NV Energy, Nevada Division of Forestry, Living With Fire (UNR Cooperative Extension), and Fire Adapted Nevada.

Green Waste Collection will take place beginning at 9am until 4pm, weather permitting at the following locations (check this website prior to the event to ensure it has not been canceled due to weather conditions or a Red Flag Warning): 

April 8 & 9                   Washoe Valley

Nevada Division of Forestry Fire Station, 885 Eastlake Blvd, Washoe Valley

April 22 & 23               Lemmon Valley

Lemmon Valley Station, 130 Nectar Street, Reno

Examples of accepted items include junipers, pines, rabbitbrush, sagebrush, and other woody vegetation.

ONLY natural vegetation, please.  Items we will NOT accept include household garbage and trash, lumber/treated wood, hazardous materials, grass clippings, vegetation mixed with dirt and gravel, and stumps with root balls.  Tree stumps more than 8 inches in diameter will not be accepted.  Additionally, we cannot accept items in bags.  Bags must be emptied on-site and removed.  No commercial waste will be accepted from contractors or landscape companies.

Please do not dispose of waste outside of assigned hours.  Discarding waste outside of operating hours will be considered illegal dumping.  Please dispose of items only during the Green Waste Collection hours.

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Details for March 8 memorial procession for the Crew of Care Flight Fixed-Wing 56

Reno, NV (March 7, 2023) – Details for tomorrow’s (Wednesday, March 8) memorial procession for the Crew of Care Flight Fixed-Wing 56 for members of the public to pay their respects along the route. 

The procession will start at Walton’s Funeral Home located at Vine and 2nd Street and will end at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, 4590 South Virginia Street.

The procession will start at 12:45 pm and will arrive no later than 1:15 pm.

Procession Route Segment:

Minimal traffic disruptions will occur along the route. There will be no formal departure procession following the ceremony.

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Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue offers safety tips this Thanksgiving

Reno, NV, Nov. 18, 2022 – We want our Washoe County families to have a safe Thanksgiving and holiday season.  Thanksgiving is the leading day of the year for home fires involving cooking equipment.

Here are some tips to follow that will assure the safety of you and your loved ones this Thanksgiving:

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, and the day before Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving Day had more than three times as many fires when compared to a typical day in the U.S., according to the NFPA.

In 2019, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,400 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving, the peak day for such fires.  Unattended cooking is by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.  Cooking equipment was involved in almost half of all reported home fires and home fire injuries, and it is the second leading cause of home fire deaths.

On behalf of the firefighters and staff at Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue, we wish our residents a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. We are thankful to serve you!

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When Asked to Evacuate…GO!

By Fire Chief Charles Moore, Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue

Wildfires are dangerous and chaotic, especially when they occur in residential areas as we have witnessed in the last few fire seasons.

Viewing an attack on a wildfire is no doubt a fascinating visual. The intricate coordination that air tankers and helicopters perform from the air can be an amazing experience to watch up close.  And observing fire engines maneuver into place gives residents comfort that firefighters are on the scene.  However, the longer our residents delay evacuation after an order is given, the greater are the complications for the firefighting effort.   

Conflicts between fire equipment and citizens leaving at the same time is what we want to avoid.   For instance, fire hoses, once pressurized cannot be driven over. Vehicles break the hose which compromises the suppression effort as well as puts firefighters in a dangerous position. Multiple fire engines may also block roadways.

Firefighters must make rapid decisions on where to deploy apparatus and fire hose, along with identifying structures to protect.  Our fire crews are focused on coordinating resources in the air, and on the ground.  First responders often have little time to follow-up and ensure nearby residents evacuate once announcements are made to leave their homes and neighborhoods. 

If we can protect you in place, we will, but the strategy behind fighting wildland fires is much like playing chess. We try to anticipate what is going to happen a few moves down the chess board based on terrain and weather conditions. At times, we may order evacuations that are more extensive than might have been required.

As sometimes happens, if we order evacuations that are greater than might have been necessary, residents may question the necessity of the order.  However, if we underestimate and people get trapped by fire, we may have to count foundations, or worse. Therefore, we will always err on the side of safety. 

When you receive notification to evacuate, we respectfully ask our residents to follow the order and leave the neighborhood. We recognize the stress and uncertainty that an evacuation can cause our citizens, and we do everything we can to minimize the inconvenience.  In most cases, residents can return in a matter of a few hours. Law enforcement will also provide a significant presence to safeguard your homes.

Citizens should know how to respond to wildfire or any disaster that could occur in your area – weather events, flooding, or man-made disasters.  Prepare to be self-sufficient for at least three days. This may mean providing for your own shelter, first aid, food, water, and sanitation. Make plans with your family and friends in case you’re not together during an emergency. Discuss how you’ll contact each other, where you’ll meet, and what you’ll do in different situations.  Check all types of media – internet, newspapers, radio, TV – for local information and updates.

The fall is especially a critical time to prepare because fuels are drying out and wind events can be intense. Be safe!

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