Nevada (GNP): A fast-moving wildfire in the western US state of Nevada has forced about 42,000 people to evacuate and left another 45,000 facing evacuation warnings, as flames threatened communities surrounding the city of Reno. The Hawk Fire had burned approximately 15,040 acres by Sunday evening with zero percent containment, according to the National Interagency Fire Centre, as firefighters battled strong, shifting winds and extremely dry vegetation.
Tracing the fire’s origin, officials said it began on Saturday near Hawk Meadow Trail northwest of Reno before expanding rapidly towards populated areas. Local authorities said the evacuation orders and warnings together affected roughly 90,000 people, though the number under mandatory evacuation was considerably smaller than that total. At least six people have been injured, including three civilians and three first responders, and officials confirmed the fire was human-caused, though the specific cause has not been disclosed.
The rapid spread has already caused significant damage. Several structures have been destroyed, although officials said a complete assessment of property losses was not yet possible because many areas remained unsafe for inspection. Fire officials said the changing winds were making the blaze particularly difficult to control, with flames shifting direction as conditions changed throughout the weekend.
In response to the escalating threat, Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency in Washoe County, where Reno is located, and authorised the deployment of National Guard personnel to support the emergency response. Hundreds of firefighters have been joined by additional crews and aerial firefighting resources as the operation intensifies. More than 13,700 residences were reported to be inside the evacuation area by Sunday afternoon, and officials urged residents to leave promptly when ordered and to avoid entering evacuation zones, where roads were increasingly congested by people attempting to flee.
Beyond the immediate danger to residents, the fire has also disrupted regional transport and power supplies. US Route 395, a key north-south highway serving the area, was closed in parts of the affected region, and more than 10,000 electricity customers were reported to have lost power. The blaze pushed towards the outskirts of Reno, a city of more than 260,000 people near the Nevada-California border, raising concerns over homes, businesses, roads and other infrastructure as firefighters worked to keep the flames from densely populated neighbourhoods.
Despite the widespread disruption, some key institutions remained unaffected. The University of Nevada, Reno, which lies near the threatened area, said its main campus was not inside the evacuation zone and would continue normal operations on Monday, while continuing to monitor the fire and smoke conditions. The Reno-Tahoe International Airport also remained outside the evacuation zone and operational, though residents and travellers were advised to monitor emergency information as evacuation boundaries could change rapidly.
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On the ground, firefighters have concentrated their efforts on protecting residential areas and creating fuel breaks to slow the fire’s advance. Crews were reported to be working to keep the fire south of Cold Springs and north of Somersett, using bulldozers and other heavy equipment to establish defensive lines.
This local response reflects a broader wildfire threat across the western United States, where dry vegetation, high temperatures and strong winds continue to create conditions for fires to spread quickly. Nevada has already experienced hundreds of wildfires this year, with hundreds of thousands of acres burned statewide, underscoring the growing challenge faced by communities located at the edge of fire-prone wilderness areas near the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
As of Sunday evening, the fire remained uncontained, and firefighters were still confronting difficult wind conditions. Authorities continued to urge residents in evacuation zones to leave immediately rather than wait for conditions to worsen, while those outside mandatory evacuation areas were advised to remain prepared to leave, keep essential belongings ready and follow official emergency alerts, as officials warned the evacuation situation could change rapidly depending on weather and the direction of the flames.
