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Red flag warning for Nevada fire threat following rash of fires Tuesday

Associated Press & Staff Report
A wildland fire in south Carson Valley was reported on Tuesday afternoon.
Jim Grant | The Record-Courier

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a red-flag warning for much of western Nevada due to windy conditions that will increase the threat of wildfires over the next few days.

The warning effective at 3 p.m. Wednesday stretches from the California line near Reno to south of Hawthorne and as far north and east as Winnemucca. It includes Carson City, Fallon, Fernley, Lovelock and much of Mineral and Lyon Counties.

The weather service says the combination of low humidity and gusty winds can cause wildfires to grow rapidly in both size and intensity before crews have a chance to respond.

The forecast calls for winds gusting up to 35 mph Wednesday afternoon. The warning expires at 10 p.m. but resumes Thursday and Friday afternoons.

Gusty winds and low humidity on Tuesday helped spread three fires in the Sierra Front.

More than 600 residents remained without power Wednesday morning near Topaz Lake about 70 miles south of Reno where the flames threatened as many as 40 homes Tuesday evening.

U.S. Highway 395 was closed near the state line for about three hours before it reopened Tuesday night. One out-building was destroyed, but no homes were damaged or injuries reported in that 8-acre blaze.

Another fire across the California line in Alpine County has burned about 100 acres. Fire officials say it’s about 45 percent contained and no structures are threatened.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury battling that blaze.


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