Authorities in Nevada ordered the mass evacuation of 90,000 residents in neighborhoods in the city of Reno and Washoe County, where it is located, as a massive wildfire rages nearby and threatens to burn homes in the city itself. So far, according to reports, at least 42,000 residents have actually evacuated.
The fire, dubbed the “Hawk Fire,” began Saturday at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains near the California border and has so far burned about 60 square kilometers (23 square miles). Authorities said they believe the fire was not sparked naturally but was caused by human activity. It is not yet clear whether it was accidental or deliberately set.
The battle against the wildfire in Reno, Nevada
(Footage: Reuters)
According to authorities on Monday afternoon, the fire remains 0% contained. Strong winds are causing the flames to spread rapidly in unpredictable directions and authorities said the fire is exhibiting “extreme behavior.” The concern is that it could also reach neighborhoods in Reno, Nevada’s second-largest city. Alongside the mass evacuation, all schools in Washoe County were closed Monday and another 10,000 homes and businesses lost power. Interstate 395, a major north-south route connecting the northern and southern United States, was also closed.
No one has been killed in the fire so far, but six people, including three emergency responders, have been injured. Several homes have already burned, and videos posted on social media show their charred remains alongside burned-out cars.
Wildfire in the Reno area. 'Extreme fire behavior'
(Photo: Kate Rouch/via Reuters)
Richard Edwards, the local fire chief, urged residents to be prepared to evacuate immediately if ordered to do so, describing the fire as a “very dynamic event” because of shifting winds.
“Wind-driven fires spread very quickly to our residential areas,” he warned.
Mayor Hillary Schieve also urged residents to leave when ordered. “If you have been told to evacuate, please don't wait!” she wrote on social media.
(Photo: Trevor Bexon / Getty Images North America / AFP)
Many residents had only a short time to evacuate. “Honestly, I thought it was like in a movie,” Ruby Delatorre told The Associated Press. She had returned from a concert Saturday and discovered that her home was in the evacuation zone. She returned Monday to retrieve belongings and important items from her home.
“I literally want to cry and go back for all my stuff. I just got what I thought I needed,” she said.
Teresa Lenshyn, who also evacuated, described the evacuation as chaotic and stressful. “You don’t know if the winds are going to shift and it’s going to get worse,” she said.
The wildfire raging near Reno is the third major fire authorities in the area have battled in just two weeks. Officials say all three were caused by human activity.
(Photo: Trevor Bexon / Getty Images North America / AFP)
The western United States is experiencing extremely dry conditions that have contributed to the spread of numerous large wildfires this summer. Earlier this month, 60,000 residents were evacuated in Spokane, Washington.
More than 50,000 wildfires have broken out across the United States so far this year — the highest number in the past decade for this point in the year.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the fires have burned about 31 million dunams (7.7 million acres), an enormous area roughly the size of Maryland and larger than Israel. By comparison, about 16 million dunams (4 million acres) burned across the United States during the same period last year — nearly half the area burned so far this year.