Caughlin Wildfire Hits Reno Nevada – The Caughlin wildfire in Reno Nevada raced through neighborhoods destroying 21 buildings and forcing an evactuation of over 9500 Reno residents.
Firefighters are calling the 2011 Reno fire a ‘Locomotive’ type of fire, one that rushed through residential and small business areas like a locomotive freight train requiring more than 450 firefighters and 112 law enforcement officers, including Nevada National Guard members, looking for hot spots and residents who may not have heeded the evacuation warnings.
Fueled by high winds in excess of 30 mph to 40 mph with gusts as high as 70 mph, the southwestern Reno – Caughlin fire started on the west side of the upscale Caughlin Ranch subdivision and spread rapidly by the high winds of an approaching storm. Containment for the fire was minimal last night, and 2,000 homes remained threatened. A cause had not been determined. Reno media reports that approximately 2,300 customers remained without power as the result of the fire.
The wildfire danger is expected to decrease as winds are expected to slow considerably and combine with rain and snow showers. However, Reno disaster authorites predict that evacuated residents will not be allowed to return to their homes any earlier than noon Saturday. Aircraft the Reno authorities would normally deploy to fight fire were grounded due to high winds, but could be deployed on Saturday with winds expected to be 10-15 mph with gusts to 25 mph.
Reno, Nevada has had more than its share of disasters in recent months. The Caughlin Fire hit nearly two months to the day after a horrific crash at the Reno National Championship Air Races that killed a pilot and 10 spectators. That disaster came 10 days after a gunman opened fire inside a Carson City restaurant, killing four before shooting himself dead.
Solaria Sun Caughlin Wildfire Hits Reno Nevada.
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November 21st, 2011 at 8:17 pm
Firefighters in Nevada have fully contained a wildfire that engulfed dozens of homes and burned nearly 2,000 acres, an incident commander said Monday.
The Caughlin Fire in Reno burned 1,935 acres before firefighters contained the blaze, said Sierra Fire Protection District Chief Mike Brown, the incident commander.
The blaze has made 32 homes uninhabitable and damaged five, but is no longer a major threat to other structures, Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said Sunday.