Protection from fire: General powers; action to recover certain expenses incurred in extinguishing wildfire.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 318.1181
in effect1. In the case of a district created wholly or in part for the purpose of furnishing fire protection, the board may:
(a) Acquire fire protection equipment and acquire, construct or improve fire protection facilities and make improvements necessary and incidental thereto;
(b) Eliminate fire hazards existing within the district in the manner prescribed in NRS 474.580 for districts created pursuant to chapter 474 of NRS;
(c) Clear public highways and private lands of dry grass, stubble, bushes, rubbish and other inflammable material which in its judgment constitute a fire hazard;
(d) Coordinate fire protection activities with the State Forester Firewarden;
(e) Cooperate with the State Forester Firewarden in formulating a statewide plan for the prevention and control of fires; and
(f) Bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against any person, firm, association or agency that is responsible for willfully or negligently causing a wildfire to recover any expenses incurred by the district in extinguishing the wildfire and reasonable attorneys fees and litigation expenses.
2. In determining whether a person, firm, association or agency is responsible for willfully or negligently causing a wildfire, it must be considered, without limitation, whether the person, firm, association or agency failed to exercise reasonable care given:
(a) The forecasted and existing weather conditions;
(b) The conditions of fuel moisture; and
(c) The topography of the area of the wildfire.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (f) of subsection 1 and subsection 2, a person, firm, association or agency is immune from liability for the payment of any expenses incurred by the district in extinguishing a wildfire and attorneys fees and litigation expenses if the person, firm, association or agency immediately notified the nearest fire-fighting agency of the wildfire, was forthright and truthful in responding to questions from the State Forester Firewarden, any fire-fighting agency and any other state or local agency investigating the wildfire, and at least one of the following circumstances applies:
(a) The person, firm, association or agency had permission from a federal, state or local agency to start a fire or conduct a controlled burn and was in compliance with the terms of such permission;
(b) The person, firm, association or agency started a warming fire to protect human life due to dangerous weather conditions; or
(c) The person, firm, association or agency is in the business of raising livestock and started a controlled campfire for the purpose of branding livestock.
4. As used in this section:
(a) Fire-fighting agency means a public fire department, fire protection district or other agency of this State or a political subdivision of this State, the primary functions of which are to control, extinguish, prevent and suppress fires.
(b) Livestock has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 569.0085 .
Source: NV Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-318.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026