Washoe County Fire Study Board: Appointments or Anointments?

Washoe County Commission Agenda Item and Staff Report regarding the regional fire and emergency services study board.

Today’s Washoe County Commission meeting should be a real show. On Agenda Item 16, commissioners will decide which two of their own will sit on the shiny new study board tasked with exploring a county fire protection district. This comes courtesy of Senate Bill 319 (83rd Legislature), which mandates a look at consolidating fire services across Washoe County and the Cities of Reno and Sparks.

Sounds straightforward—until you ask who will get the seats.

If history is any guide, Commission Chair Alexis Hill will handpick her allies. Odds are good that either Mariluz Garcia or Clara Andriola will be “anointed” for the board. It might be both of them since Commissioner Hill will be busy running for Nevada Governor with a kick-off in Las Vegas on September 4, 2025.

One name you probably won’t hear? Commissioner Mike Clark.

And that’s ironic—because Clark is the one commissioner who actually raises concerns about real public needs, like the West Washoe Valley residents who still live without a fire station. If anyone should be in the room shaping a plan for fire coverage, it’s him. But Hill’s well-documented disdain for Clark means the seat is likely to go elsewhere. Well, and frankly Commissioners Garcia and Andriola share Hill’s distain for Clark. Why, he calls them all out.

So instead of prioritizing residents’ safety, especially in areas already underserved, we’ll likely see more of the same Washoe County politics: loyalty over logic, insiders over independence, and image over impact.

In other words, don’t expect today’s appointments to be about fire protection. Expect them to be about control.

Washoe County remains one hot mess—only this time, the fire is political.