RENO, Nevada — A wildfire that mushroomed over the weekend in the Sierra Nevada foothills spread perilously close to neighborhoods in Reno, Nevada, forcing authorities to urge more than 90,000 residents to leave their homes.
The out-of-control fire has already burned some homes, but there's concern that winds could push the flames into newly developed and densely packed neighborhoods in Nevada's largest city outside of metro Las Vegas.
Schools across Washoe County were closed Monday because of the evacuations and to keep roads clear for emergency crews. Nevada's governor declared a state of emergency in the county and mobilized the National Guard to help with aerial firefighting and protecting evacuated neighborhoods northwest of downtown Reno.
At one roadblock, residents expressed frustration Monday that they could not get back into their homes.
"There’s no fire here! Why are the National Guard here?” a driver yelled.
Wildfires near Reno are blamed on human activity
Authorities said late Sunday that the Hawk Fire had stayed in its footprint and firefighters were extinguishing hotspots while working to keep the fire from jumping a main highway and reaching homes and businesses. There was zero containment.
The fire began Saturday and grew to more than 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) on Sunday. It's the third large wildfire in the rugged terrain north of Reno in the past two weeks — all caused by human activity, according to fire officials. They haven't said whether the Hawk Fire was intentionally set or accidental.
At least six people — three first responders and three civilians — have been injured by the latest fire.
Reno, home to about 280,000 people, is known for its casinos and as a gateway to nearby Lake Tahoe, North America's largest alpine lake and a popular vacation destination. It's also southwest of Nevada's Black Rock Desert, site of the annual Burning Man festival, which begins next Sunday.
Many who travel to Burning Man make Reno a regular stop. But now some are saying on social media they should avoid the city so they don’t take hotel rooms and other resources away from evacuees.
Fire claims a Reno woman's home for a second time
Videos posted on social media showed the smoldering ruins of homes and cars, with only a scorched basketball hoop still standing.
Crystal Hallock, 53, lost her home to fire for a second time in less than a decade. She moved into the rebuilt house in 2019, a year after an electrical fire burned it down.
On Saturday, with a giant plume of smoke and flames visible on the nearby mountaintop, she fled with her children, grandchildren and pets. Her ex-husband tried to save the property and her vintage Cadillac, grabbing a garden hose as flames melted children’s toys and burned bushes.
She urged him over the phone to get out and feared the worst when the line went dead. “He was saying he can’t breathe, it’s so dark I can’t see, and I’m screaming at him, ‘Leave the car, just leave it,’” she said Monday.
Thirty minutes later, he called to say he had gotten out with the car. “I’m truly blessed because I have a place to stay with my animals and my grandkids. We were all able to get out safely," she said from a niece’s apartment in Reno.
Nevada fire spread quickly in foothills
Many residents had little time to evacuate after the fire exploded in size.
“Honestly, I thought it was like in a movie,” said Ruby Delatorre, who got back from a concert only to find her home in the evacuation zone. She returned Sunday to walk to her house and get a few more possessions.
“I literally want to cry and go back for all my stuff. I just got what I thought I needed," Delatorre said.
Some who spotted the smoke on Saturday thought it was from another wildfire that has been burning the past two weeks.
“The flames were pretty close to my house, and the smoke was really thick, but we have no idea if our house survived or not,” Jon Hanbury said Monday at Reno's convention center, which is now a shelter.
Wildfire threat remains high in the West
Much of Nevada’s western edge is under an increased risk of wildfires this week because of high winds and low relative humidity, the National Interagency Fire Center said. The National Weather Service says the region will see warm, dry and breezy conditions, and that critical fire weather conditions are possible in the week's later half.
Extremely dry conditions across the American West have sparked a rash of wildfires this summer. Fires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area in early August.
Nationwide, there have been more than 50,000 wildfires — the most over the past 10 years covering the same time period, according to the national fire center.
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Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle and Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta contributed.