Evacuation orders lifted near Washoe County fire
A growing and mostly untamed wildfire that broke out after a car fire Sunday was threatening at least 150 homes outside of Verdi, a small town northwest of Reno in Washoe County.
Known as the Gold Ranch Fire, it’s burning 674 acres and was 8 percent contained as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to fire officials.
Efforts are ongoing to contain the fire, the Reno Fire Department said, using 3,500 feet of hose and two extra firefighting helicopters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also granted emergency funding to fight the fire.
Officers arrested Andrew Bernhard Nick late Sunday in connection with a suspected DUI that ended with his 2020 Alfa Romero on fire near Interstate 80, according to an arrest report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Nick, 40, is a resident of Salt Lake City who told a Nevada Highway Patrol officer that he was driving to his girlfriend’s house in San Francisco. The officer found him standing 30 feet away from the car, which was fully engulfed in flames. He was unsteady on his feet and slurring his speech, according to the arrest report.
He was later booked at the Washoe County Jail and has an arraignment set for Aug. 26.
Gov. Joe Lombardo said in a statement on X that his office is monitoring the situation and that he’s “grateful for (Nevada’s) collaborative approach” that includes multiple firefighting departments.
Washoe County lifted its evacuation orders Tuesday for those living near Interstate 80 on the Nevada-California border, but said firefighting is ongoing and that all non-residents will still be turned away from the area.
NV Energy shut off lines near the fire Sunday to avoid boosting the wildfire, leaving 6,300 people in the area without power. The utility said on X Monday around 6:30 p.m. that it was able to restore power to 4,500 of those customers.
Air quality in the Reno area dipped into the unhealthy range on Monday, and National Weather Service officials issued a red flag warning for western Nevada and northeastern California, warning of the potential for further fires.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X. Staff writer Peter Breen contributed to this report.