The fast-growing Hawk Fire that was spreading toward neighborhoods and consumed some homes in northwest Reno, Nevada, was caused by humans and was 0% contained Sunday, authorities said. At least six people were injured.
An additional 45,000 people were in the evacuation warning zone, and encouraged to leave now and be prepared to stay away for several days to clear the roads for first-responders. Nearly 10,000 customers were without power in Washoe County on Sunday. Reno has a population of more than 280,000 residents. Instead, Kieffer, her husband and their four children ages 3 to 16 raced to save their dogs and whatever possessions they could retrieve.
Route 395, a major north-south highway, were closed due to the fire. Portions of U.S. Kieffer had been watching her son’s football game Saturday when she learned that their home on the outskirts of Reno was in the evacuation zone. Eyes watering and throat burning, Kieffer grabbed a handful of clothes, a Bible, her wedding photos and her mother’s ashes. The family drove to a friend’s home but had to evacuate again. They learned later Saturday evening that their own home was gone. Separate GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns were set up to assist Arrate and the Kieffer family.
Officials said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that 42,000 residents have been ordered evacuated, and the “GO NOW” zone reached the edge of the University of Nevada campus. An application the family used to track the fire’s progress had been lagging significantly behind its actual location, she said, so they thought firefighters had kept the blaze from their neighborhood. Ash rained down and the wind blew like an oven blast from a wall of flames advancing down the hillside toward their neighborhood, she said. In the frenzy, as firefighters yelled at her family to leave immediately, she said she forgot her family’s birth certificates and was unable to salvage her childhood photos.
Earlier this month, three wildfires fueled by hot, dry and windy conditions north of Reno forced more than 13,000 residents from their homes, according to the Nevada National Guard. The largest of the three, the Bug Fire, burned nearly 150 square miles but now is almost fully contained.
