A wildfire burning in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and moving toward Reno, Nev., has forced thousands of evacuations, shuttered two hospitals and prompted emergency declarations from state officials.
The blaze, known as the Hawk fire, has grown to more than 13,000 acres since Saturday without any containment and has encroached on the outskirts of Reno, a city of almost 300,000 people near the California border.
At a news briefing late Sunday morning, local officials suggested that around 90,000 people in the vicinity of the raging flames should evacuate.
About 42,000 of those people are under formal evacuation orders. All of the properties are northwest of downtown, according to Washoe County.
Gov. Joe Lombardo of Nevada has issued a state of emergency in the county, which includes Reno and parts of Lake Tahoe, and activated the Nevada National Guard. He cautioned on social media on Sunday that it was “still a rapidly evolving situation.” Six people, including three firefighters, have been injured, officials said.
About 45,000 people are under prepare-to-leave warnings, one step less urgent than an evacuation order, but officials have asked those residents to depart immediately if possible.
If necessary, contingency plans have been made to evacuate the county jail, Sheriff Darin Balaam of Washoe County said on Sunday.
More than a dozen roadways have been closed because of the flames, according to local officials. Two Northern Nevada Health System medical centers have evacuated patients and closed in response to the fires, according to Jamii Uboldi, the system’s public information officer.
The Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority closed the Reno-Stead Airport to “general air traffic,” officials said in a statement on Sunday. Reno-Tahoe International Airport remains open.
About 800 emergency responders from local, state and federal agencies are combating the blaze. An additional 300 law enforcement officers have been dispatched.
The Nevada National Guard sent Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters to support response efforts. Sixty National Guard Response Force personnel are helping law enforcement safeguard evacuated neighborhoods, the National Guard said.
Aerial and ground crews worked overnight to stanch the fire, local officials said.
Officials confirmed the fire was human-caused, but did not say whether arson was suspected.
Around 10,000 customers remain without power after 60,000 lost power during peak fire activity on Saturday, Jesse Murray, senior vice president of NV Energy, said on Sunday.
The cocktail of extreme heat, dry conditions and strong winds aided growth of the Hawk fire, the second large blaze to blacken the area in the past three weeks.
Just north of the Hawk fire, the Bug fire has claimed 94,000 acres. About 95 percent of that fire is contained, according to California and Nevada authorities. The Bug fire started in California and crossed the state line into Nevada.
California is monitoring the growth of the Hawk fire and has offered air and ground resources, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Sunday.
Across the American West, wildfires have ripped through the arid and undulating landscape, propelled by high temperatures and drought.
In Washington State, more than 400,000 acres have succumbed this wildfire season, and hundreds of homes were burned in Spokane County.
In Oregon, a record 2.4 million acres have burned in 2026, according to state authorities.
There are 44 active fires in Nevada, burning nearly 250,000 acres; and in Utah, ongoing fires have consumed more than 350,000 acres, according to state agencies.
“The Hawk fire is a very dynamic incident for us, as it’s being driven by the winds,” Richard Edwards, fire chief at Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue, one of the emergency response teams fighting the blaze, said on Saturday.
“The wind-driven fires move very rapidly into our residential areas, creating a lot of challenges for our firefighters to save homes and protect lives,” he added.
Though the winds have calmed, Chief Edwards said on Sunday that fire-favorable conditions may return.
“We expect those same stronger winds to come back this afternoon,” he said.
