Up to 14,000 people evacuated ahead of wildfire burning south of Reno
Posted: September 10, 2024
The wind-whipped Davis Fire that broke out Saturday south of Reno, Nevada, has closed major roadways, cut power to thousands, shut down schools and forced 12,000 to 14,000 people in the Washoe Valley to leave their homes, officials said.
Amid the havoc created by the Davis Fire, Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz postponed a rally that was scheduled to occur in the area, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
The blaze broke out amid hot, windy weather on Saturday around 2:30 p.m., with the first flames spotted in Davis Creek Regional Park, a 200-acre expanse of pine forests and sage-dotted desert on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. The burn area was pegged at 6,500 acres on Sunday, but on Monday morning Adam Mayberry, a spokesperson for the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, said the number was downgraded to 4,700 acres due to better mapping. There is no containment on the fire.
The fire burned “a significant portion” of Davis Creek Regional Park and destroyed some park buildings before spreading in a northeasterly direction across the Washoe Valley, Mayberry said. An estimated 15 primary structures have been destroyed.
Maybberry said “there’s a finger” of the fire “that’s pushing off to the northwest” toward Mount Rose, which sits between Lake Tahoe and Reno. Firefighters are working to protect some “very expensive homes” on large lots south of Mount Rose Highway in the neighborhoods Galena Forest, St. James’s Village and Montreux, he said.
Sky Tavern and Mt. Rose ski resorts have been evacuated, officials said.
The Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory, a third-generation chocolate shop halfway between Reno and Carson City, was saved by firefighters, SFGATE reported.
Interstate 580 between Reno and Carson City were both closed due to the fire on Saturday but reopened by Sunday evening. Mt. Rose Highway and Old U.S. Highway 395, between East Lake Boulevard and Bowers Mansion Interchange, remained closed to traffic. Get the latest information on roads in the area of the fire from the Nevada Department of Transportation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
