\n<\/p>\n
An out-of-control wildfire that jumped over fire trucks and made it difficult for crews to reach hot spots destroyed homes in northwest Reno, Nevada, on Sunday. Shifting winds challenged firefighters trying to bring it under control, and authorities urged some 90,000 people to evacuate.<\/p>\n
At least six people \u2014 three first responders and three civilians \u2014 were injured. Officials said the fire was \u201chuman-caused\u201d but did not provide details on how they reached that conclusion, or whether it was intentionally set or accidental.<\/p>\n
The Hawk Fire began Saturday and grew to more than 23 square miles (60 sq. km.) as it spread Sunday across the Peavine Peak area of the Humboldt\u2013Toiyabe National Forest, where rugged foothills are ringed by homes and businesses near the California state line. There was zero containment.<\/p>\n
Some 42,000 residents have been ordered evacuated as the \u201cGO NOW\u201d zone expanded, reaching the edge of the University of Nevada. An additional 45,000 people were in the adjacent evacuation warning zone. Authorities urged people to be prepared to stay away for several days, because shifting and strengthening winds were expected to make the fire even more unpredictable.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease get out if you can right now,\u201d Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said.<\/p>\n
A Sunday evening update said crews observed \u201cextreme fire behavior\u201d as gusts pushed flames through dry brush. <\/p>\n
\u201cOver the next 12 hours, the fire is expected to continue to make moderate to high intensity runs in pockets of dense fuels,\u201d the statement said. <\/p>\n
It wasn’t known how many homes were destroyed. Cari Kieffer said a video posted on social media showed her house entirely burned down, with only a scorched basketball hoop still standing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI woke up this morning and just started crying \u2014 all my kids, they lost everything,\u201d Kieffer said Sunday. \u201cWe lost all our stuff. Everything we own is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kieffer had been watching her son\u2019s football game Saturday when she learned that their home on the outskirts of Reno was in the evacuation zone. An app the family used to track the fire\u2019s progress had been lagging significantly behind its actual location, she said, so they thought firefighters had kept the blaze from their neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Instead, Kieffer, her husband and their four children ages 3 to 16 raced to save their dogs and whatever possessions they could retrieve. 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept looking outside and the flames just kept getting closer and closer every time I looked,\u201d Kieffer said. \u201cI was like, we gotta go like now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eyes watering and throat burning, Kieffer grabbed a handful of clothes, a Bible, her wedding photos and her mother\u2019s ashes. In the frenzy, as firefighters yelled at her family to leave immediately, she said she forgot her family\u2019s birth certificates and was unable to salvage her childhood photos.<\/p>\n
The family drove to a friend\u2019s home but had to evacuate again. They learned later Saturday evening that their own home was gone.<\/p>\n
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency in Washoe County and mobilized the Nevada National Guard to support aerial firefighting with two helicopter crews as well as 60 troops to help police safeguard evacuated neighborhoods. Also responding were 800 fire personnel.<\/p>\n
Nearly 10,000 customers were without power in Washoe County on Sunday, down from 60,000 on Saturday. Portions of U.S. Route 395, a major north-south highway, were closed due to the fire. Reno, with more than 280,000 residents, is the largest city in Nevada outside of metro Las Vegas.<\/p>\n
Washoe County emergency officials opened the Reno-Sparks Convention Center to evacuees, but said they couldn\u2019t bring their pets \u2014 small animals and large animals were to be left at two other locations. Casinos in Reno offered discounts on hotel rooms to evacuees.<\/p>\n
The fire was so small Saturday morning that it wasn\u2019t even a concern, said Tyler Duvall, who went camping over the weekend. By the next day, his house was in the evacuation zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wind really blew it up,\u201d Duvall said.<\/p>\n
On Saturday alone, 15 new fires popped up across Nevada. Months of dry weather and a record lack of snow<\/a> this past winter across the American West have created prime fire conditions. Earlier this month, wildfires in eastern Washington state<\/a> forced the evacuation of 60,000 people<\/a> in the Spokane area, while three wildfires north of Reno forced more than 13,000 residents from their homes.<\/p>\n Jaida Hargrove\u2019s grandfather, Rick Arrate, lived alone on Peavine Mountain, which overlooks Reno and Sparks. Firefighters used a bulldozer, cut down trees and applied fire retardant in their attempt to contain the flames, Hargrove said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey all thought it would be OK,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then, in about 30 minutes, the winds just changed and it came way too fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Arrate and the firefighters were quickly forced off the mountain. \u201cAll he was able to take with him was his two golden retrievers,\u201d Hargrove said.<\/p>\n Arrate spent Saturday night with Hargrove\u2019s parents, his next steps unknown.<\/p>\n Separate GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns were set up to assist Arrate and the Kieffer family.<\/p>\n Retired police officer and firefighter Ted Melden has seen his share of Mother Nature\u2019s fury since moving to Reno with his wife earlier this month from Chapin, South Carolina. So far, he has experienced a hailstorm with flash flooding, two different power outages and, now, the second wildfire incident in the region in two weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cJust another natural disaster,\u201d Melden said.<\/p>\n