Wildfire west of Las Vegas 60 percent contained
A wildfire that broke out Thursday afternoon west of Las Vegas was 60 percent contained Saturday night, as firefighters attempt to create a new fire line around the blaze, officials said.
The Sandy Valley Fire, which started because of target shooting that caused a spark in dry vegetation, erupted around 1:35 p.m. Thursday in the Potosi Mountain area, about 20 miles west of Las Vegas. The blaze had burned about 1,380 acres as of 7 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center website.
About 200 firefighters were suppressing the blaze on Saturday, which is on Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands, officials said. The fire started about 2 miles west of state Route 160 on Sandy Valley Road.
Firefighters on Saturday used helicopters to take crews to higher elevations in hopes of creating a fire line to the east and establish access on the north and south sides of the blaze. Crews are continuing to create a fire line on the west side of the fire and assess buildings that may have been affected in the Potosi Pass area, the BLM said.
Officials have recommended precautionary evacuations for all residents and commercial buildings on Potosi Pass Road, the BLM said Friday.
No injuries have been reported, and no buildings are immediately threatened as of Saturday, the agency said. The Sandy Valley and Potosi Pass roads are only open to residents.
Crews with the BLM, Forest Service, National Park Service, Nevada Division of Forestry and Clark County firefighters are helping fight the blaze.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.
