After a recent audit showed it failed to bill for tens of millions of dollars in firefighting services performed in other states, the Nevada Division of Forestry (NDF) has recovered more than two-thirds of that money, according to State Forester and Fire Warden Kacey KC.

According to the audit performed by the Legislative Counsel Bureau’s audit division and presented to lawmakers at the beginning of the year, the state forestry agency failed to bill for roughly $32.7 million in out-of-state wildfire fighting services between 2020 and 2024, in large part due to a new billing system and high rates of turnover.

In 2023, NDF switched from a paper to an automated billing system, but that system wasn’t capable of issuing invoices until October 2024. That lag in billing capability is part of the reason NDF says it fell further behind on billing.

Since October, NDF has billed outside entities for approximately $38 million in services, including roughly $27.9 million of the $32 million identified in the audit, according to KC.

By mid-June, the agency had received about $27.7 million in payments, including about $21 million of funds identified in the audit.

The agency has also filled empty billing positions and implemented recommendations in the audit to ensure future expenditures are tracked and reimbursed in a timely manner, KC said.

“Now that we have the staff and the system fully functioning, along with the updated policies and procedures, we are moving through at a very quick pace,” she said. “I’m proud of the work our incident billing team has put in and am grateful to our federal and state partners for being so responsive.” 

Positions filled, recommendations implemented 

NDF starts each year with a budget of $4.5 million — $2.5 million in general funds and $2 million in county receipts — but the division spends about $24 million in an average fire year and relies on contingency funds and advances for ongoing operations, regularly requesting funds from lawmakers. 

During the 2023 legislative session, Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Director James Settelmeyer submitted a request for $15 million for supplemental funds for the forestry division, which falls under DCNR’s umbrella.

Lawmakers ultimately approved the request through SB480, but with the caveat that an audit of the division be performed to better understand its budget. Completed last year and presented to lawmakers in January, the audit showed high rates of turnover in the division’s billing department and confusing billing practices.

The department has since streamlined its billing practices with its new system and filled all its vacant positions in the billing department, KC told The Nevada Independent. And the agency is working to fill three new billing department positions created during the 2025 legislative session. 

The audit also contained 13 recommendations to improve budgeting practices and ensure payments are accurate. All of those have been implemented, KC said, and she expects the remaining outstanding bills to be paid back to the agency.