Almost 90,000 residents have been urged to evacuate due to the rapid spread of the Hawk Fire that began Saturday near Reno, Nevada.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency Saturday and said the fire is “spreading quickly and threatening homes and structures.” Some homes have already been destroyed in northwest Reno.
At least six people have been injured, including three civilians and three first responders. No fatalities have been reported.
Nearly 42,000 residents are under “GO NOW” evacuation orders, with an additional 45,000 under “GET SET” orders. Authorities said evacuated residents should anticipate staying out of their homes for several days while firefighting efforts continue.
“This fire is far from over,” said Nevada State Forester Fire Warden Ryan Shane in a news conference Sunday morning. “The risks are real out there, the hazards in these neighborhoods, it’s a dangerous place to be.”
Rapid spread is assisted by ‘challenging’ weather conditions
The fire had spread around 15,000 acres as of Sunday night, according to data posted by the National Interagency Fire Center’s Inciweb. As fire behaviors change, evacuation zones can “expand rapidly,” said Reno Police Chief Corey Solferino.
“Our priorities continue to be the same: life safety first, property second,” Solferino said.
The fire is 0% contained and there are approximately 400 personnel working around the clock to fight the flames, including personnel from the National Guard.
The rapid spread is fueled by grass and brush and assisted by strong winds.
“Our weather conditions continue to be challenging: hot, dry, windy and no end in sight anytime soon,” said Fire Chief Pete Bryant in the Sunday news conference.
Washoe County Sheriff Barin Balaam urged residents to “be safe and be ready.”
The fire is affecting residents ‘well beyond the fire area’
Effects of the fire were felt “well beyond the fire area,” said Jesse Murray, senior vice president of energy delivery and natural disaster protection at NV Energy.
Nearly 60,000 residents were out of power Saturday during the peak of the fire due to several critical transmission facilities in the area being directly impacted by the fire.
Now, following efforts by NV Energy staff, only around 10,000 customers are without power, with 250 lacking gas services.
Authorities said the cause of the fire is “still undergoing active investigation” but is known to be human-caused, and warned residents to be cautious during fire-prone weather conditions.
The Hawk Fire is one of 49 ongoing fire incidents in Nevada, according to information released by Nevada Fire Info. The state has seen more than 600 fires this year, burning a total of almost 400,000 acres.
Update: New fires start in Utah
Reno wasn’t the only place with weekend sparks.
The weekend brought new fires in Utah as well, with 20 new starts in the last 24 hours, including the Salt Wells Fire in Box Elder County and the Big Mountain Fire near Elberta. The fires are both classified as large wildfires and have spread across 585 and 400 acres respectively.
Utah’s 2026 fire season has seen almost 1,000 fires across the state, burning almost 545,000 acres, according to Utah Fire Info.