Hawk Fire Near Reno Forces Evacuations and Cuts Power on Aug. 22

TL;DR: A fast-moving brush fire that started near Somersett in west Reno on Aug. 22 grew to about 2,500 acres, triggered Go Now orders and Get Set warnings on both sides of the California-Nevada line, and shut off power to tens of thousands.

Mandatory Go Now orders covered ground north and northwest of Somersett and north of Verdi on Aug. 22, while Get Set warnings covered Golden Valley, Lemmon Valley and Stead west of U.S. 395, according to local reporting from KOLO and 2News.com. The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District placed the size at roughly 2,500 to 3,000 acres at 3:35 p.m. and described movement toward the northeast, the Sacramento Bee reported. More than 1,000 homes northwest of Reno fell inside orders and warnings that stretched north toward Reno-Stead Airport and west to the state line.

What happened on Aug. 22

Where the fire started

Crews first responded to a 30-to-40-acre vegetation fire in the Somersett area of Reno on Saturday, Aug. 22, KOLO reported, citing Incident Command. The Sacramento Bee reported that posts from the Sierra County and Washoe County sheriff’s offices described the start as late Saturday morning. The 2News.com account located active burning north of Cold Creek Trail and north of Somersett in west Reno, with Reno Fire and Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue personnel engaged.

Incident Command described structures as immediately threatened during the initial response, according to KOLO. Hawk Meadow Trail closed north of Somersett Parkway, 2News.com reported.

How fast it grew

The National Interagency Fire Center listed the Hawk Fire at 2,500 acres with no containment in Washoe and Sierra counties in an afternoon update carried by KOLO. The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District gave a range of approximately 2,500 to 3,000 acres at 3:35 p.m., according to the Sacramento Bee.

The fire burned in grass and brush in Washoe County, Nevada, with smoke visible from nearby Sierra County in California. The Sacramento Bee noted that this Reno-area fire was unrelated to a now-contained Hawk Fire that had burned in El Dorado County the prior week.

Where evacuation orders and warnings applied

Go Now orders in Washoe County

Washoe County Sheriff’s Office posts announced new evacuations north and northwest of Somersett and north of Verdi, KOLO reported. 2News.com described those locations as Go Now evacuation orders that remained in place through its 3:15 p.m. update.

The sheriff’s office said most of the evacuation area was unpopulated but asked residents near the immediate area to stay alert and prepared because conditions could change rapidly. Residents were directed to check the Perimeter Map for exact boundaries because zones could shift, according to KOLO.

Get Set warnings around the North Valleys

Get Set evacuation warnings covered the west side of U.S. 395 for Golden Valley, Lemmon Valley and Stead, both KOLO and 2News.com reported. The Sacramento Bee reported that mandatory orders and warnings together affected more than 1,000 homes northwest of Reno.

Households in warning zones were not under a departure order but were told to be ready to leave if conditions changed. The sheriff’s language emphasized rapid change and continued attention rather than waiting for smoke or flames to appear.

Cross-border warning in California

Sierra County areas immediately bordering Nevada received an evacuation warning, the Sacramento Bee reported. Sierra County officials noted that the fire was spreading northeast and away from California. The sheriff’s office told residents in those zones to be prepared to evacuate if conditions changed.

2News.com also reported California evacuation warnings tied to the Hawk Fire and pointed readers to the Genesys Map for California warning details. That cross-border alert matters for household planning because smoke, road closures and utility shutoffs did not stop at the state line.

Power outages linked to the fire

Truckee-area outage

The Truckee Donner Public Utility District said in a 6:20 p.m. website post that all of its more than 12,500 customers lost power after NV Energy de-energized transmission lines serving the district’s system in response to the Hawk Fire, the Sacramento Bee reported. The outage left most of the Truckee area without electricity on Saturday evening.

Reno, Sparks and Copperfield outages

NV Energy said on its website at 8:30 p.m. that about 27,000 customers in Northern Nevada in the Reno, Sparks and Copperfield areas lacked power because of a shutdown for active wildfire, according to the Sacramento Bee. The same report described tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power in Washoe County and California’s Nevada County on Saturday evening.

Both utilities said they did not have estimated restoration times, the Sacramento Bee reported. For households, that lack of a restoration estimate meant planning for an extended outage rather than a brief interruption.

Firefighting response on Saturday

Ground resources requested

Incident Command requested an additional 10 engines, two dozers and two hand crews from CAL FIRE, according to KOLO and 2News.com. The request was recorded in early-afternoon updates on Aug. 22.

Air and federal support

Local, state and federal air tankers plus two helicopters were assigned to assist containment work, the Sacramento Bee reported, citing the fire district. U.S. Forest Service resources were diverted from the nearly contained Bug Fire to support the Hawk Fire response.

Those resources joined Reno Fire, Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, state crews and federal personnel already working the line. The operation focused on a rapidly expanding perimeter driven by dry fuels and northeastward spread.

Where evacuees were told to go

People who needed to leave were directed to the Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center at 1301 Valley Road in Reno, 2News.com reported. Washoe County Human Services Agency, Allied Security and American Red Cross of Nevada staff were at the site to assist arrivals.

KOLO directed residents to the Perimeter Map for current evacuation zones, road closures and incident updates. 2News.com also pointed readers to that map system and to the Genesys Map for California warnings.

Reno-area reporting emphasized that residents should not rely on a single social-media post for boundaries. Because officials updated zones through the afternoon, households needed to recheck the mapped zones before returning or delaying departure.

What households should do during orders and warnings

If you are in a Go Now zone

Leave when officials issue a Go Now order for your zone. Take people, pets, medications, identification, chargers, cash and a short supply of food and water. Close windows and doors before leaving. Follow the mapped evacuation route rather than a familiar shortcut that may cross the fire area.

If you are in a Get Set zone

Residents of Golden Valley, Lemmon Valley, Stead and border zones in Sierra County who were under warnings were told to be prepared to leave if conditions changed. That means keeping vehicles fueled and facing outward, placing bags near the door, arranging transport for children, older adults and animals, and monitoring the Perimeter Map and sheriff posts for upgrades to orders.

During a wildfire power shutoff

With more than 12,500 Truckee Donner customers and about 27,000 NV Energy customers reported without power, households needed outage-safe steps. Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed. Use battery or hand-crank lights instead of candles where possible. Unplug sensitive electronics. Check utility outage pages from the Truckee Donner Public Utility District and NV Energy for updates, since both utilities said restoration times were not available on Saturday evening.

The Living With Fire Program evacuation resources, noted in Reno-area coverage by This Is Reno, include a Wildfire Evacuation Checklist available in English and Spanish. Households can use that checklist to organize documents, supplies and animal needs before an order arrives.

Sources referenced