Firefighters found 32 homes destroyed and six damaged during their cavass of the Hawk Fire on Sunday, Truckee Meadows Chief Richard Edwards said at a 2 p.m. Monday press conference. He said that number is expected to climb as surveys continue.
More than 900 people have built a line around 27 percent of the 15,000 acre fire, mostly on the southern end where it was threatening the Sommerset neighborhood.
Carson District Ranger Matt Zumstein said there have been drone incursions by members of the public over the fire.
Firefighters working the blaze include an East Fork Fire Protection District brush truck and the Genoa Hand Crew who were dispatched on Saturday.
That occurred not long after the fire started at 11:23 a.m., just a few minutes into a red flag warning for critical fire danger. Officials are reporting humans sparked the blaze, though not how.
Thirteen structures were lost over the weekend as of Monday morning’s National Incident Management Situation Report.
The cost to fight the fire over the weekend reached $6 million.
Highway 395 through Stead is closed as the fire has crossed North Virginia Street at a couple of locations including Stead Boulevard and Peavine Road.
NV Energy reports that 9,650 electrical customers are affected by the fire.
In Nevada, evacuations are voluntary unless ordered by the governor. The first time that happened in modern history was five years ago when Lake Tahoe residents were ordered to leave their homes ahead of the Caldor Fire on Aug. 31. The Caldor Fire never made it past South Lake Tahoe, which had been evacuated a few days prior.
Air quality in Carson and Eagle valleys was in the good range since the fire started.
Previous story
The Hawk Fire grew to 15,000 acres on Sunday but appears to have laid down overnight.
Flames reduced overnight based on observations from the Alert Wildfire cameras and the Fire Information for Resource Management satellite mapping of the area around Peavine Mountain west of Reno. The mapping confirms the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch’s report on the size of the fire.
As of the last report on Sunday, there were 700 firefighters working to build a line between the fire and the neighborhoods it is threatening.
At 5:30 p.m. Sunday, there still wasn’t any containment of the fire, which was caused by human activity.
“(The) goal is to keep the fire south of Cold Springs and North of Sommerset,” fire officials said on Sunday evening. “Dozers plan to be utilized on the south and east portions of the fire to create a fuel break between fire and residential areas. Firefighters are actively engaged in point protection.”
Evacuations affected around 90,000 people and Highway 395 is currently closed in both directions from Parr Boulevard to Red Rock Road.
Previous Story
An East Fork Fire Protection District brush truck and the Genoa Hand Crew were dispatched to the Hawk Fire burning west of Reno on Saturday.
First reported at 11:23 a.m., the fire burned through the night, with the Red Cross reporting more than 465 evacuees sheltering at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, which was updated from an earlier number issued by the Red Cross just after 3 a.m.
Highway 395 through Stead is closed as the fire has crossed North Virginia Street at a couple of locations including Stead Boulevard and Peavine Road.
Officially, the fire has grown to 10,523 acres as of Saturday night.
More than 9,000 NV Energy customers are without power due to the fire.
Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency for the fire, which enables mandatory evacuations.
Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve has confirmed the loss of structures and urged residents not to wait to be told to evacuate.
“Structures have already been burned in this fire and your life is more important than a building,” she said. “Evacuating before the fire arrives also allows our firefighters to focus their efforts on battling the blaze.”
Air quality in Carson and Eagle valleys was in the good range on Sunday morning, but National Weather Service forecasters say there’s a chance patchy smoke from the fire may arrive around 4 p.m. as winds shift west at 5-10 mph, gusting to 20 mph. Before the wind picks up conditions are right for a repeat of the smoke plume like that visible from Carson Valley on Saturday.
A red flag warning for the Sierra Front expired at 11 p.m. Saturday.
The Hawk Fire is located not far from where the Bug Fire was just extinguished.
Previous Story
Less than a half-hour after a 12-hour red flag warning took effect, a fire on Peavine Mountain sent up a plume of smoke visible from Carson Valley.
The Hawk fire started at 11:23 a.m. and has already prompted evacuations for an area between Interstate 80 and Highway 395 near Verdi.
There is no official size for the fire, but satellite mapping from the Fire Information for Resource Management System indicates the fire could be affecting more than 3,000 acres west of Reno.
The Genoa crew which returned to Jacks Valley Station 15 is preparing to respond to the fire.
Previous Story
A 12-hour red flag warning that began at 11 a.m. today has been issued for the Sierra Front, including Douglas County by the National Weather Service.
Southwest winds of 15-25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph and humidity approaching 12 percent.
That’s a significant decrease from this morning after a light rain fell and humidities topped out well above 50 percent.
“While humidity values aren`t exceedingly low (minimums 10-18 percent), most of these areas did not receive much rainfall last week, resulting in a greater extent of dry vegetation where fire could spread more quickly when the winds pick up,” forecasters said. “Therefore, a red flag warning continues in effect for these areas. So, be extra cautious and fire safe, avoid outdoor recreation or work activities that could spark any fires.”
There is also a slight possibility that showers or thunderstorms could return this afternoon, though that will likely be further southeast in Mono and Churchill counties.
“The main concerns with any storm will be gusty outflow winds to 40 mph, frequent lightning, periods of heavy rain with the strongest cells that could lead to flash flooding and small hail,” forecasters said on Saturday morning.
