Genoa to receive $215,000 fire prevention grant

A $215,000 grant from the Nevada Division of Forestry to help reduce the effects of forest fires on Nevada’s oldest settlement was approved by Douglas County commissioners on Thursday.

The grant is a federal award that ends Dec. 31, 2025 and requires a $24,000 in-kind match.

The town applied for the grant as part of the wildland-urban interface program to reduce the effects of fires on intermountain communities.

“This project will specifically take places in the Town of Genoa, including Mormon Station State Historic Park, Eagle Ridge, Genoa Lakes and The Ranch at Genoa Lakes,” according to the county. “The landscape is characterized by dense mixed conifer forests with varied parcel sizes and both existing and new structures.”

One of the challenges Genoa faces is the limited ability to get in and out of town, which is directly at the base of the Carson Range.

There is a wait list of 35 property owners who would benefit from the grant.

Genoa has been recognized as a Firewise USA Community.

“This project will focus on 230 private parcels in Genoa and the surrounding communities and the Genoa recreational path,” according to the background.

Private owners who benefit from the program are required to sign a contract that they will maintain the work for the next decade.

On Tuesday, East Fork Fire Protection District trustees heard a presentation on the adoption of the International Wildland Urban Interface Code. The modifications must still be read a second time by trustees.