Another wildfire in a long, hot, and fiery summer has ignited in the American West, this time in northern Nevada outside of Reno, expanding to nearly 11,000 acres by Saturday evening.

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency in Washoe County for the Hawk Fire, saying it “is spreading quickly and threatening homes and structures.”

“This is an active and rapidly evolving situation, and I urge everyone in the affected areas to remain vigilant,” Lombardo wrote on X.

The inferno has grown to more than 10,500 acres, according to the fire mapping platform Perimeter Map.

“The Hawk Fire is a very dynamic incident for us as it’s ‌being ⁠driven by the winds,” Richard Edwards, chief of Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue in Washoe County, said in a video ⁠posted to social media.

“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.

CNN reported:

The fire could be seen rapidly advancing on a downwards slope toward illuminated neighborhoods of Reno late Saturday, before gradually fading from view, according to a time-lapse video from an Alert California camera operated by UC San Diego.

Some 400 firefighters have been battling the blaze, aided by helicopters flying overnight, officials said, but high winds had complicated efforts to contain it. The blaze had grown rapidly through the day, driven by gusty winds, low humidity and dry brush.

By Saturday evening, residents of some 1,000 homes were instructed by officials to get ready to evacuate.
However, the fire map showed a number of residential areas were now under “go now” orders.

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve posted a warning on X, saying “structures have already been burned in this fire and your life is more important than a building.”

Casinos in Reno were offering discounts for rooms for those forced to evacuate, JoJO USA reported in its X post.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.