The scars from last summer's Cathedral fire can still be seen at Mount Charleston. UNLV scientists believe each year brings higher chances for a catastrophic fire in that community.UNLV graduate students measure the diameter of trees at a research plot. Overseeing them is ecologist Scott Abella.
Stumps show where two large trees grew 100 years ago. The woods are now filled with trees which may be too much of a good thing."Major increase in the density of the forest, so a lot more trees today than a hundred years ago, so a lot more fuel. When we do have a fire today, it can pretty much take everything out," said Dr. Scott Abella, UNLV ecologist.
Abella's team hikes to the starting point of last year's Cathedral fire. Only the underbrush should have burned, instead, tall, dead trees remain.
"Because we've been so good at actually stopping these fires, we've had this tremendous fuel buildup," he said.
UNLV's scientific data shows wildfire fuel once burned off every two years. Without that, Abella says it's time to cut down some of these smaller trees.
"It actually costs about several hundred dollars per acre. These trees are fairly small. They need to be cut. There's very little market for them. It's not like we can get lumber from these trees. Again, in the long run. That's much cheaper than continuing to fight these fires," he said.
Abella's students keep studying Mount Charleston's forests, hoping to pinpoint the right areas to create fire breaks trying to prevent future catastrophic blazes.
"I still see myself collecting as much data as I can, researching, trying to get the forest to mimic the past forests, what it used to be like, and trying to restore it," said Ken Chittick, UNLV graduate student.
"I want to protect the forest and really all wilderness for future generations," said Sylvia Tran, UNLV graduate student.
The Mount Charleston Lodge tells 8 News NOW this past weekend was their first big tourist weekend of the summer. Last July's Cathedral fire started with a campfire. That gives an additional urgency to fire safety on the mountain.