fire

View Washoe Drive Fire (1/19/2012) in a larger map

UPDATE 10PM: Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said tonight the Washoe Drive Fire has consumed and estimated 3,700 acres, burned at least 20 structures and has resulted in one fatality.
Hernandez would not go into details of how the person died. He said the 250+ firefighters on the scene have stopped the forward progress of the fire. He said the fire started in the East Lake area, and then followed the Highway 395 corridor north, where it was stopped just south of Galena High School.
Highway 395 will be closed until further notice due to damage to debris and damage to guard rails, power poles and other item near the roadway. Gov. Brian Sandoval told state workers who commute by this route to stay home Friday. Evacuations have been lifted for the Galena area. About 2,000 people are still unable to go back to their homes tonight.
Hernandez said firefighters saved more than 800 homes that were in the path of this destructive fire.
The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.
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UPDATE 9PM: Reno Fire officials report forward progress on Washoe Drive fire has stopped. Fire behavior is moderating due to diminishing winds, lowering termperatures and increasing humidity/moisture moving over the Sierra Nevada/Carson Range. Fire burns more than 3,000 acres with zero containment; 10,000 evacuated; no count on home and structure losses.

U.S. Highway-395 remains closed between 1.8 miles north of Carson City to the Junction of SR 341/431 (Mt. Rose Junction) in south Reno. U.S. Highway 395 could remained closed on Friday (1/20) through the morning commute - make alternate plans.
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At 4:40 pm Thursday, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, under his constitutional and statutory authority, made a state declaration of emergency which qualifies local governments for federal assistance associated with this event. The National Guard is on standby at the request of Sandoval and Washoe County. California has also provided fire assistance as part of a Governor to Governor agreement with Jerry Brown.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been and are being affected by this fire,” Sandoval said. “Declaring a state of emergency ensures that every resource from the local, state and federal level is available to assist. The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Department of Public Safety have also engaged with local responders.”
Additionally, Nevada has been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG). As a result, Nevada is eligible for up to 75 percent funding assistance for eligible costs. The request was made by the Nevada Division of Forestry on behalf of Washoe County at the onset of the fire.

More below the fold.

U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will resume prescribed fire operations in the Angora area on Jan. 19. Fuels management crews will begin work in small sections of the unit near the north end of Tahoe Mountain. The project area is approximately 123 acres. Operations will continue through the weekend. In addition, operations may begin this weekend [...]

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - U.S. Forest Service fuels management crews will resume prescribed burning in the Angora fire area tomorrow, according to a Wednesday statement. Fuels management crews wil...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The Lake Valley Fire Protection District has kicked off a "Can Your Ashes" campaign following several house fires linked to improper disposal of fireplace ashes.The campa...

Smoke visible in the Meyers area that is drifting into the Lake Tahoe Basin is a prescribed burn in the Eldorado National Forest near Iron Mountain Road. Lake Valley fire officials say there is no rea...

UPDATE: 9:15PM: A 23-year-old Bay Area man who died on Saturday after slipping on ice and plunging about 150 feet near Cascade Falls, has been identified by family members as Michael James Machell of El Cerrito, Calif.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - It's still dry in Lake Tahoe. How dry, you ask? Dry enough that the whole place could burst into flames at any moment.The National Weather Service issued a fire weathe...

Fire personnel in the Lake Tahoe Basin have been put on alert for this Sunday because of the possibility of strong winds that could cause a wildland fire to intensify and spread rapidly. Lack of rain or snow has already pushed the fire danger level back to high, and the Forest Service is urging the public to use caution with activities that could start a fire, according to the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.

CAL FIRE is suspending controlled burns in El Dorado and Amador Counties due to continued dry conditions."Due to the lack of measurable precipitation and drying north and east winds, we have suspen...

1 cause was illegal or abandoned campfires,” Forest Service spokeswoman Cheva Heck said in a release. “We ask that that people remember that campfires and warming fires generally are not allowed on th...

The U.S. Forest Service is planning to take advantage of the unusually dry winter conditions to resume prescribed burning in several locations in the Eldorado National Forest. Between Jan. 10-18 fire ...

By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee. Fire officials are investigating the cause of an early morning fire at a mobile home park in Pollock Pines in which a 68-year-old ...www.laketahoenews.net/.../el-dorado...

Prescribed fire operations will continue on Friday at South Lake Tahoe near Meyers, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Smoke will be visible throughout the area.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has increased staffing levels following an unusually dry start to the 2011-2012, according to a Thursday statement from CAL FIRE.On Tuesday...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department wants residents to know what to do if their heater fails and repair is unavailable.If a home heater goes out during a winter storm, k...

One of the most common fires we respond to is a fire caused by hot ashes being placed in a box or bag and stored on the back deck. When you clean the ashes ...www.laketahoenews.net/.../important-to-di...

Steve Eikam, North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District battalion chief, told Lake Tahoe News his department first called for a helicopter, but canceled that when it ...www.laketahoenews.net/.../youngs...

Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District recently announced the appointment of local business leader Mike Bradford to the Board of Trustees."I'm really looking forward to working with Fire Chief B...

By Kathryn Reed
Two dogs are dead and the residents of two South Shore houses have been displaced after a fire raced through both structures Monday night.

VAIL, Colorado - Finally, the fire wrapped its warmth around the tips of my frozen toes. We had been snowshoeing for six hours, and my wool socks and sturdy boots were hardly enough to shield my fe...

The North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District has partnered again with Incline Village General Improvement District's Waste Not Program, to offer the annual free ...www.laketahoenews.net/.../recyc...

Mike Bradford, owner of Lakeside Inn Casino in Stateline, has been appointed to the board of directors for the Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District. • Pamela ...www.laketahoenews.net/.../snippets-ab...

Firefighters were putting out hot spots this afternoon on a small fire between Highway 50 and Kyburz. According to Capt. Daniel Berlant with Cal Fire, there was a downed, live power line in the area. It was possible the power line was the origin of the flames but that wasn't clear yet, Berlant said. Dry and breeze conditions were also a concern to keep the quarter to half-acre fire from spreading.