Wildfire Washoe County NV 26 Homes Destroyed

We are getting preliminary reports of a wind driven wildfire in Washoe County, NV, approximately 3,000 acres, with possible structure threat and structural loss. We will update more as more information comes in.

We are recieivng reports of strructural loss on this fire. Galena High School Evacuated. Washoe Drive at Highway 395. Rain should slow fire by late night fall. Power lines down in fire area. Galena area hit hard by fire.

Livestock may be sent to livestock event center. Fire on both sides of Highway 395. 10,000 people evacuated. Reports of 20 homes destroyed, unconfirmed at this time. Rain and possibly snow may come in soon to slow fire.

Fulton IHC committed to Western Great Basin Pre-position. Enroute to Carson City. St.James Villiage near Mt. Rose is being evacuated. Bear Divide IHC committed to Western Great Basin Support. Enroute to Carson City. Resources responding to the Jacks Valley Fire near Genoa Lakes. The Reno Sparks Livestock Event Center has been activated as an evacuation center for horses and other livestock being evacuated.

Evacuations in the Galena area are now in effect. Evacuations are now in effect for Pleasant Valley and the Pleasant Valley school has been evacuated. The Reno Weather Service has extended the Red Flag Warning for zone 450 untill 2200 tonight. 60 mph gusts reported on the Washoe Valley Fire.

Washoe City to Pleasant Valley on both sides of U.S. 395; 10 miles south of Reno (Lat. 39 19 33 Long. 119 48 31)
01/19/2012
12:45 p.m.
3,700 acres (as reported by Reno Fire)
Fire Perimeter Map in pdf (as of 7:20 p.m. on 1/19)
Brush & grass
Unified command with Reno Fire, Sierra Fire Protection District, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management & Nevada Division of Forestry
Lyon County, Tahoe-Douglas, Mineral County, Storey County, Carson City Fire, East Fork FPD, North Lyon County Fire, Washoe County Sheriff's Dept., Nevada Highway Patrol, Nevada Army National Guard, NV Energy, Federal Emergency Management Agency.


http://emergencystream.com/video_streams/NV/Reno3.html

...STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING...

STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING AHEAD OF A WINTER STORM APPROACHING THE SIERRA. RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE THROUGH THIS EVENING AS THE ATMOSPHERE MOISTENS AHEAD OF THE STORM. STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH UNSEASONABLY DRY FUELS WILL CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH 10 PM.

26 Homes Lost in Reno Fire, 2,000 Evacuated
BY MARTIN GRIFFITH
Associated Press
The forecast of rain and snow would help douse the flames but also increase the chance of flooding on the charred land, authorities said.


Created: January 20, 2012

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Firefighters battle a fast-moving brush fire in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., on Jan. 19.
Firefighters battle a fast-moving brush fire in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., on Jan. 19.

Firefighters wait for water before attacking an outbuilding adjacent to a home Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Pleasant Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south...
Firefighters wait for water before attacking an outbuilding adjacent to a home Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Pleasant Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several...

Firefighters battle a fast-moving brush fire burns in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire through a valley...
Firefighters battle a fast-moving brush fire burns in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire through a valley south of Reno on Thursday, burning several homes...

A house burns just south of the Old 395 Gas Station Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Washoe Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on...A house burns just south of the Old 395 Gas Station Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 in Washoe Valley, Nev. Winds gusting up to 82 mph pushed a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno out of control on Thursday as it burned several homes, threatened dozens more...

Editor’s note: Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez will be the keynote at Firehouse World next month in San Diego. He will address his agency’s response back-to-back responses to the Reno Air Race disaster and the Caughlin Fire.

RENO, Nev. -- Firefighters worked to hold the line Friday on a fast-moving brush fire that tore through the Reno area, destroyed 26 houses and forced thousands of residents to flee. The forecast of rain and snow would help douse the flames but also increase the chance of flooding on the charred land, authorities said.

The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by wind gusts reaching 82 mph, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno.

"The fire moved very, very fast," Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley said Friday at a briefing. "Firefighters did an enormously good job of holding the number of structures down to 26."

The fire's cause isn't known. It started in a valley along U.S. Highway 395, which remained closed because of power lines on the road, said Chris Perry, director, Department of Public Safety.

At one point, the flames got within 100 yards of Galena High School, where Vice President Joe Biden spoke earlier Thursday. Three nearby schools were closed Friday and about 200 customers were without electricity.

The fire held steady at about 3,900 acres and was 50 percent contained. More than 10,000 people were told to leave their homes during the height of the blaze, and about 2,000 of them remained under evacuation orders.

At least 700 people were expected to fight the blaze Friday, including law enforcement, crews from the National Guard and firefighters from California.

By nightfall Thursday, the fire had burned to Reno's southern outskirts. Flames were visible from the downtown casino district, about 10 miles away.

Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said there was one fatality in the fire area but declined to provide more details, saying an autopsy would be needed to determine the cause of death.

The blaze was "almost a carbon copy" of a huge wild fire on the edge of the Sierra foothills that destroyed 30 homes in southwest Reno in November, the fire chief said. It burned about 3 square miles and also forced the evacuation of 10,000 people.

"It's inconceivable that this community has been struck by tragedy again," said Gov. Brian Sandoval, who declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon.

The flames, up to 40 feet high, raced through sage brush, grass and pines in an area where small neighborhoods are dispersed among an otherwise rural landscape.

"The area burned is absolutely devastated," Haley said.

About 300 elementary school students were taken to an evacuation center, and deputies went door to door asking people to leave their homes in Pleasant Valley, Old Washoe Valley and Saint James Village, Washoe County sheriff's Deputy Armando Avina said.

Erika Minnberry, 28, said she didn't become concerned at first because smoke from the fire appeared far enough away.

"Probably 30 minutes later, it was up to our house because of the high winds," she said. "I felt pure survival adrenaline. When we drove away, the smoke was so thick, we could barely see ahead of us. Now I feel anxiety. I couldn't find my two cats at the time and I hope they're OK."

With the smell of smoke in the air, Biden was about 25 minutes into his address when aides summoned him off stage. He told the audience he would have to move onto a question-and-answer period before officials "made me get out of here."

As with the November fire, which was sparked by downed power lines, strong winds and dry conditions helped fuel the latest blaze. The Reno area had gone a winter-record 56 days without any precipitation until light snow fell earlier this week.

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Associated Press writers Michelle Rindels in Las Vegas, Martin Griffith in Reno and Sandra Chereb in Carson City contributed to this report.