Wildfires Near Las Vegas In Kyle Canyon Nevada

Las Vegas Skyline With Smoke From Wildfire Looming Overhead

The wildfire north of Las Vegas has moved to the Kyle Canyon Area. 

It started apparently Monday. I thought it started on the 1st, Tuesday when we were going up on a retreat. The smoke was visible for miles over our city today and a huge dark cloud of it is spreading throughout the evening. 

This is the largest fire in my memory and it is frightening that it is this close.

Images from Tuesday evening July 1st, 2013. From the Mt. Charleston Resort.

In my cousin's words, our beloved mountain is on fire. It is heartbreaking to watch and even more devastating to those that have had to evacuate. In the event of an emergency of this scale, your life is the most important thing you bring with you. No matter what you have in your home that is of any importance it can be replaced. You and your family cannot. You must leave, don't look back. It is like trying to out run a ticked off dragon.

Over the week I have watched at a distance as this scene painfully becomes darker and more frightening. The images tonight are positively prehistoric. They look like something from the top of a volcano!




This area is so rugged a terrain that they are having difficulty getting to the area and trying to shut off the fuel supply for this fire. There are craggy drops throughout these mountain areas and they are only accessible through a hiking trails. I think all they can do is let it burn to the cliff face and try to prevent it from coming down to the small town atop Mt. Charleston.

Images from around 4:30 pm shot near the Airport

Video of the Mt. Charleston Fire smoke covering the valley this afternoon. Tonight it is even thicker than this! People with breathing problems are urged to stay indoors as this fire continues to spread an the air is tinged with the ashes, smoke, and dust.

Video time lapse video 

About all they can do at this point is dump flame retardant and water from airplanes. Its not like you can just drive a fire truck up 12,000 feet of mountain. It is really making things difficult for firefighters.

These images were from sunset this evening July 8, 2013 - All images: M Burgess

What do you do to prepare for a wild fire crisis? 

Hope you have a good vehicle to run like the dickens! Keep your gas tank at least at 3/4 full, keep a change of clothes or two for each member of your family in a bag ready to go. If we are still in a functioning society you can get somewhere to shelter and be fed so emergency and survival items aren't as pressing, unless you are suspecting your vehicle to break down on the way out.

Tend to a bag for each of you and the animals you can take with you. Water for all. If your home is in the wake of something of this magnitude, there isn't much you can do. We see people in California showering their roof down and trying to stand up to the fires. Fire doesn't give. It consumes. If you are careless enough to think putting your life on the line for stuff and things you will probably suffer serious and even fatal injuries. Another thing to have prepared is a dust mask and a bandanna or a cloth you can put over your face to breath through if you are close to the smoke. If you have to, moisten it down a little.

In the safety of our families, I am asking for prayers for those that have had to leave and those who cannot. Please, pray for rain and the protection of the animals still trapped on these hills! There are wild horses, burros, ground squirrels and chipmunks, lizards, birds and many beautiful things on this once pristine area.

Mt. Charleston our hearts and tears are with you tonight!

Related news stories:

http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/22780010/mt-charleston-fire-containment-estimated-for-july-19

Mt. Charleston Memories