Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has declared a state of emergency in Washoe County as the rapidly spreading Hawk Fire has consumed over 10,000 acres and forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.
The fire, which ignited around 11:30 a.m. Saturday near Cold Creek Trail, had expanded to 10,523 acres by Saturday night. It remained entirely uncontained, with initial estimates earlier in the day placing it at approximately 3,000 acres.
Evacuation orders, ranging from immediate "go now" directives to "get set" preparations, were issued for areas including Somersett, the North Valleys, Verdi, Golden Valley, Lemmon Valley, and Stead. In total, more than 6,000 people were under some form of evacuation notice. The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District reported that approximately 1,000 homes were threatened by the rapidly growing blaze.
Reno Mayor Hilary Schieve confirmed that structures had already been burned, though she did not provide specific details. She emphasized the importance of evacuation for resident safety and to allow firefighters to focus on battling the fire.
US Route 395 was closed in both directions between Parr Boulevard and Red Rock Road due to the fire, according to the Reno Fire Department.
Approximately 50,000 customers north of Reno lost power Saturday night, with outages concentrated in the Cold Springs, Stead, and University Ridge areas. The emergency room at North Valleys also faced a temporary closure, with patients being evacuated.
The Hawk Fire's impact extended into California, with Sierra Nevada placed under an evacuation warning. Around 14,800 customers in the Truckee area were without power Saturday due to an emergency de-energization of a transmission line near the fire.
The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for Reno on Saturday, citing critical fire weather conditions with wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour and humidity as low as 12 percent, which created potential for rapid fire growth.
An evacuation site was established at Hall 4 of the Reno Sparks Convention Center. Authorities noted that the Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center, previously used as a shelter, was full.