HISTORY
between 1870 and 1880, Conrad Keil built a sawmill and cabin on MOUNT CHARLESTON…
1870 - 1920
The Mountain was named after the town of Charleston in South Carolina and was the home of a member of the US Army Corps of Engineers who passed it on a surveying trip to prepare the area for railroad construction. It was also at this time that the indigenous Paiute tribe was moved from their native lands to a reservation south of the Mount Charleston area. Over the years, conflict erupted between the different Paiute tribes and the settlers, who were drawn to the area by the precious metals the Nevada earth held within it. Eventually, the tribe would be forced out, and Mount Charleston was settled by people like Conrad Keil, who built the first sawmill and cabin between 1870 and 1880.
In 1905, E.W. Griffith started a campground and campsite called “Charleston Park Lodge.” By 1915, the campsite had developed enough for visitors and became the first commercial facility open to the public on the mountain. The lodge stayed in that family until it was purchased by the Bailey family.
1920 - 1960
In 1924, Congress passed the Clarke-McNary Act to devise and recommend an adequate forest protection and fire prevention system. The hope behind this Bill was that if cooperation was encouraged between the federal, state, and private sectors of forestry, fire risks would be reduced, prompting timber owners to be less hasty to cut and, therefore, less destructive in their methods of cutting.
Before this act, fire protection methods and equipment were very crude compared to today's standards. In the late 1920s, when a fire was reported, many engines were flat-bottomed or stake road trucks that had to be started by hand crank. The “Fire Chief” would drive to the comer saloon or pool hall, dash in, and obtain all available men for a fire crew.
It took over 20 years for things to change much for the growing town of Mount Charleston. On September 10, 1948, Don Drummond and Warne McLeod appeared before a committee of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce to form a fire district in the Mount Charleston Area. This request helped spark the development of many of today’s favorite attractions on the mountain, including the ski resort and many hiking trails. In 1953, the Clark McNairy Fire District was formed (NRS 473) by the request of the citizens of the Mount Charleston and Clark County Commission to the State Forester to protect life and property.
1961 - 1970
After a devastating fire in 1961 at the Mount Charleston Lodge (which took firefighters from Las Vegas more than an hour to reach), the Mount Charleston Fire Station was built and staffed by one Fire Patrolman and a one-ton Fire Engine. The next year, a new fire station and regional office were constructed near “Old Town.” In 1965, the Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) established a new volunteer fire department, which was funded and equipped.
1971 - 1980 .
By 1970, the department purchased and put a new one and a half-ton Fire Engine into service. The next year, NDF requested that the Clark County Fire Department staff the station 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with one person per shift. NDF would supply the station, equipment, and radio system. NDF would also maintain a six-person seasonal hand crew for Wildland Fires.
By 1975, the Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) requested that NDF staff the station with NDF employees. The Clark County Fire Chief stated that CCFD was not geared up for the suppression of Wildland Fires on the Mountain. The Chief also requested that NDF respond to all Structure Fires and Medical Aids within the Fire District. That year, NDF hired and staffed the station with three new firefighters, each of whom went through the City of Las Vegas Fire Academy.
1981 - 1990
In 1980, the Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) received its first Structure Fire Engine, one of the most versatile pieces of equipment fire departments have when responding to emergencies. These engines are ready for fire response, hazardous materials incidents, vehicle extrication, and other rescue scenarios. Two years later, Station #2 was constructed by NDF in Lee Canyon and equipped with a one-ton Patrol Unit.
The Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) Requested that the Volunteer Fire Department operations be turned back to CCFD in 1984. In exchange, CCFD would supply Fire Engines, Rescue, Equipment and Radio Equipment. This station eventually became CCFD Station 81. The next year, NDF added another Firefighter per shift and then hired three seasonal Firefighters to staff the patrol in Lee Canyon in 1988.
1991 - 2000
By 1998, NDF received a new Structure Engine and a new Brush Engine so that the team could assist in fighting wildfires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment. The 1980 Structure Engine was also moved to Station #2 Lee Canyon. The next year, NDF began going through the Fire Alarm Office for all incidents in the district and hired a Protection Officer to administer its Wildland Urban Fuels program.
2001 - TODAY
In 2007, the Mount Charleston Town Board and the Clark County Board of County Commissioners requested that the State Forester expand the Fire District to the US Forest Service Boundary and start a joint Fire Station at Station #2. That same year, the department hired a Battalion Chief to serve as the Incident Commander on the scene of fire and medical incidents. By 2010, the Battalion Chief position was transferred to the Fire Captain for Lee Canyon.
The 2015 Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 474 by Clark County and the Mount Charleston Fire Protection District formed a new fire district. That next year, the Clark County Fire Department Volunteer Fire Department #81 and Mount Charleston Fire Protection District combined into Mount Charleston Fire and Rescue.
Keeping your community safe
