Over 90,000 evacuate as uncontained Hawk Fire burns outside Reno, Nevada

The Hawk Fire burning northwest of Reno, Nevada, triggered the evacuations of over 90,000 people on Sunday, according to fire crews working the incident.

The wildfire, which ignited on Saturday morning and has since been determined to be human-caused, has burned over 15,000 acres as of Sunday evening. Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a State of Emergency soon after the fire started on Saturday as the fire spread rapidly.

“This is an active and rapidly evolving situation, and I urge everyone in the affected areas to remain vigilant and follow the direction of local officials,” Lombardo said in a press release regarding the emergency declaration. “The state is fully engaged, and we are working alongside local authorities and first responders to deploy every available resource to protect lives, safeguard communities, and keep Nevadans out of harm’s way.” 

Numerous communities are in GO NOW evacuation zones across the region, with local officials urging community members to check the Perimeter Map website for the latest evacuation updates. Officials have also closed numerous roads in the area, including highways and local streets. Winds up to 20 mph increased fire activity and drove fire movement Sunday afternoon into the evening, crews said.

Credit: Perimeter Map

Firefighters remained fully engaged on Sunday, working to extinguish hotspots and keep the fire south of U.S. 395, according to crews at the scene. Communities north of 396 are sandwiched between pending evacuations from the Hawk Fire to the south and the Bug & Stallion Fires to the north, which have burned over 93,000 acres and are 97% contained as of Sunday night.

The Washoe County School District canceled all school classes, except for Gerlach K-12 school, on Monday due to the ongoing fire. The district had just restarted classes for the new school year on Aug. 10.

“We understand that so many people in our WCSD family—students, families, and staff —are impacted,” the district said in a press release. “Over the next few days, we will continue to update our entire district family with information as it becomes available. We are grateful to our firefighters and first responders as they continue to battle this fire, and we thank our district personnel who are assisting with this effort.”

Credit: Inciweb

Smoke from California’s Mosquito Fire expected to move into Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho

smoke forecast fire wildfire
Forecast for distribution of smoke at 1 a.m. PDT Sept. 16, 2022. NOAA.

Wednesday afternoon most of the smoke from the Mosquito Fire 35 miles northeast of Sacramento was moving into Northern Nevada. But that changed overnight as it spread northwest toward Chico and Redding in north-central California.

A forecast produced by NOAA expects that by 1 a.m. Friday it will again be moving into Northern Nevada, Eastern Oregon, and Southern Idaho. And from there, most likely Montana.

satellite photo Mosquito Fire California
Satellite photo showing smoke from the Mosquito Fire at 8:11 a.m. PDT Sept. 15, 2022.

Below is the current air quality, produced by AirNow.

Air quality map
Air quality, from AirNow, at 8:54 a.m. PDT Sept 15, 2022.

Air quality map Mosquito Fire
Air quality, vicinity of Mosquito Fire, from AirNow, at 8:54 a.m. PDT Sept 15, 2022.

Fire on Mt. Wilson spreads into Wilson Creek drainage in Nevada

Wilson Creek Fire, May 28, 2021
Wilson Creek Fire, May 28, 2021, via GBCC.

10 a.m. MDT May 29, 2021

The Wilson Creek Fire in Eastern Nevada had burned about 700 acres when it was mapped Friday, but the fire was very active that evening and into the night, growing substantially. Judging from the heat detected by satellites Saturday morning it may be two to three times larger.

It was started by lightning and was reported at 10:30 a.m. May 20.

The fire is east of Highway 93, 21 miles north of Pioche, Nevada, 44 miles north of Caliente, Nevada, and 17 miles west of the Nevada/Utah border.

Below is a Friday night update from the Incident Management Team:

“The lightning-ignited fire on Mt. Wilson is burning in timber, pinyon-pine, brush, and grass. There is no immediate threat to structures or private property. Public and firefighter safety is the top priority.

“The fire today moved down and out of the rocky terrain that has been largely inaccessible to firefighters, burning through some heavy fuels and making a run into the Wilson Creek drainage.

Wilson Creek Fire
Wilson Creek Fire, as seen from Cave Mtn. at 3:51 p.m. MDT May 28, 2021.

“Ground resources suppressing the fire are one Type 1 hand crew, one Type 2 Initial Attack hand crew, and eight smokejumpers. Two additional Type 1 hand crews are en route. Also en route are two engines to support the one engine onsite, and a bulldozer.  Current aerial resources are one Type 1 helicopter and one Type 2 helicopter with a Type 3 helicopter available as needed. Aerial resources earlier today included three large air tankers and five Single Engine Air Tankers, or SEATs.

“Smoke will be visible to residents and recreationists in eastern Nevada and western Utah. Motorists are encouraged to be aware of increased fire vehicle traffic in the area. The fire is 50-percent contained with full containment expected Saturday evening, June 5. It was first reported Thursday morning, May 20.”

Wilson Creek Fire
Firefighters at the Wilson Creek Fire got a surprise Monday, May 24, 2021.

View from the cockpit as air tanker assists firefighters on the Comet Fire near Ely, Nevada

September 19, 2020 | 7:55 p.m. MDT

air tanker cockpit view drop wildfire
The view of the Comet Fire from Tanker 871 in Nevada, August 6, 2020. From video by Jim Watson.

Ride with Jim Watson, the pilot of Single Engine Air Tanker 871, as he sizes up and then drops retardant on the Comet Fire near Ely, Nevada, August 6, 2020. You won’t actually see the retardant because it comes out of the bottom of the aircraft. The SEAT is owned by GB Aerial Applications.

Pilots that were killed in mid-air collision of air tankers identified

Updated August 20, 2020 | 7:27 p.m. MDT

Red Canyon Fire
File photo. Air tanker 866 (N8510M) drops on the Red Canyon Fire in South Dakota July 9, 2016. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

The Sheriff’s Office of Lincoln County, Nevada has officially released the names of the two pilots that were killed in the mid-air collision of two Single Engine Air Tankers that occurred July 30, 2020 that were working on the Bishop Fire in southeast Nevada. The aircraft were on contract with the BLM.

They were identified by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office as David Blake Haynes and Scott Thomas. When we asked Sheriff Kerry Lee why it took almost three weeks to release the names, he said that they have four ways to identify deceased individuals — dental, fingerprint, identification by the family either on scene or by photo, or DNA. Because of the condition of the victims they had to use DNA which required obtaining samples from family members then sending those to a lab with samples from the pilots.

A preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that one of the two SEATs had fire retardant on the windshield. Both pilots of the aircraft, the only personnel on board, were killed while assisting firefighters on the Bishop Fire in southeast Nevada.

The investigators found that the tankers were working in tandem with one close behind the other. After the following aircraft got retardant on the windshield it made a rapid climb then suddenly turned left and collided with the other.

Both of the SEATs were operated by M&M Air Services out of Beaumont, Texas. The aircraft were made by Air Tractor, model AT-802A; N8510M (Tanker 866) and N1558W (Tanker 824).

Our sincere condolences go out to the family, friends, and co-workers of Mr. Haynes and Mr. Thomas.

Tanker 824 (N1558W)
File photo: Tanker 824 (N1558W) at Boise, July 19, 2014. Photo by Bill Gabbert.

The article was updated August 20, 2020 after receiving information from the Sheriff’s office.