Hawk Fire destroys 32 homes in Reno, with thousands still evacuated

LATEST Aug. 24, 3:26 p.m. RENO, Nev. — The Hawk Fire burning on Peavine Peak, near the California-Nevada state line, is 27% contained, fire officials announced at a press conference Monday afternoon. The containment lines run along the southern perimeter of the fire, near the neighborhoods of Somersett, Mogul, Las Brisas and Robb Drive, where residents are starting to return to their homes after being evacuated over the weekend. 

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The blaze, which currently stretches to 15,051 acres, has destroyed 32 homes, Fire Chief Richard Edwards of the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District said during the press conference. Another six homes have been damaged. 

“We expect those numbers to increase as damage assessment teams are still out in the field assessing other areas right now,” he said. 

Even though evacuation orders are being downgraded for some neighborhoods, thousands of residents are still not allowed to go back to their homes. About 23,000 people who live in Reno’s North Valleys neighborhoods are still under evacuation orders. Another 40,000 people are prepared to leave their homes quickly if the fire worsens. 

Four civilians and three first responders sustained injuries in the fire, Edwards said. The first responder injuries were minor, but he did not provide an update on the civilian injuries. No fatalities have been reported. 

Fire officials are working to build containment on the north and east sides of the fire, with heavy equipment, hotshot crews and hand crews all deployed, said Pete Briant, division chief with the Reno Fire Department. Helicopters are scooping water from Stampede Reservoir, across the state line in California, to douse the flames. 

“There’s a piece of the fire that came across [Highway] 395 when the flame front hit the road, and we’ve successfully contained the area on the east side of 395,” Briant said. A section of Highway 395 north of Reno remains closed to northbound traffic. 

More than 100 power poles were damaged in the fire, said Jesse Murray, senior vice president of energy delivery for NV Energy. The utility company has restored power to people who live in the Somersett neighborhood, but power is still off for about 10,000 customers in the North Valleys area.  

The Hawk Fire still has 900 fire personnel assigned to its fronts, with firefighters arriving from across the country and as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

One issue that has been challenging firefighting efforts are illegal drones that people are flying over the fire. Drones jeopardize the pilots of helicopters and fixed-wing planes that are part of the firefighting effort, said Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam. The sheriff’s department will be pursuing cases against people who are flying drones illegally above the fire, he added.

“If you want to fly drones, do it, but do not fly in these zones where the fire is,” Balaam said. 

The burned area is also closed to the public, and Balaam warned people not to go into the scorched terrain above the Somersett neighborhood.

 “Fire is still in there,” he said. “They’re still moving their equipment. They have aviation units, and they don’t know if you’re up there, and then you cause dangers to both yourself and to the fire crews and stop them from continuing to contain that fire.”

Balaam thanked the first responders and firefighters who have been working at all hours on the fire. One person who works at the sheriff’s department lost their home, he said. 

“They’re still coming every single day to serve this community,” Balaam said. “And that’s what I’m proud of.”

Aug. 24, 12:58 p.m.RENO, Nev. — Tens of thousands of people evacuated from their homes over the weekend as the Hawk Fire burned on Peavine Peak outside of Reno near the California-Nevada state line, with no containment as of Monday.

The Hawk Fire started on Saturday around 11:30 a.m. near the Hawk Meadow Trail, behind the Somersett Golf and Country Club, in a neighborhood with large homes in northwest Reno. Gusty winds accelerated the flames as the fire quickly grew from several hundred acres to several thousand late in the day on Saturday and a giant plume of smoke puffed into the sky above Reno. The flames wrapped around Peavine and reached the north-facing valleys that descend toward more homes and Highway 395.

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But favorable weather and calmer winds overnight on Sunday gave firefighters a much-needed opportunity to hold the Hawk Fire to its 15,051-acre footprint, Chris Buckley, a spokesperson assigned to the Hawk Fire, told SFGATE. 

“The hope is to keep capitalizing on those gains today and hopefully get some containment in there while the weather cooperates,” Buckley said. 

On Monday morning, the rolling canyons on Peavine Peak were charred black under a hazy blue sky, as the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office announced that residents who live in Somersett, Los Brisas and near Robb Drive can begin to return to their homes as evacuation orders start to be downgraded. 

Hot, dry and breezy conditions are forecast to continue over the next couple of days, and fire officials warned that flames could still continue to spread, especially to the northeast and northwest. Winds are a big factor on fire behavior in this region. On summer afternoons, gusts pick up speed and can push flames into dry, brittle sagebrush. On the north side of Peavine, the fire is burning in areas with heavy timber, Buckley said. 

More than 900 firefighting personnel, including 95 fire engines and 10 helicopters, are assigned to the Hawk Fire, Buckley said. They’re trying to keep the fire east of Dog Valley Road near Verdi, California, and south of Highway 395. Buckley said fire crews are hoping to build containment around the fire today.

“We’re attacking it from the air, on the ground,” Buckley said. “Got as many resources as we can get our hands on out there.”

Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said at a press conference on Sunday that evacuated residents should expect to be away from their homes for two days. 

“We have a lot of hot spots out there,” Balaam said. “Based upon what the weather is telling us right now, this wind could pick up like we saw with the fire two weeks ago and move quickly.”

The fire is also burning at a critical time for Reno. It’s the week leading up to Burning Man, when thousands of tourists descend on the region to stock up on food and supplies before driving up to the Black Rock Desert for the annual gathering. 

The Hawk Fire is the third fire to displace thousands of residents in the Reno Sparks region this summer. Some people have evacuated twice within the past couple of weeks. 

All three fires — the Bug and Fred Mountain Fire, the Stallion Fire and now the Hawk Fire — were caused by humans. Earlier this month, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office arrested a 47-year-old woman named Christine Mitchell on charges of arson after she allegedly told firefighters that she started the Fred Mountain Fire intentionally.

Major thoroughfares in north Reno also remain closed, including parts of Highway 395 and North Virginia Street. Buckley said there’s no timeline for reopening the roads.

“Everything is fluid,” Buckley said. “But just, anybody planning on coming into town just needs to know that these people have been through a major tragedy. It’s been a really tough few weeks.”

Earlier on Monday, law enforcement shut down eastbound Interstate 80 near Verdi, west of Reno, after police were involved in a shooting. Reno officials said the shooting was not related to the Hawk Fire.