Heavy winds expected to fuel raging Davis Fire south of Reno

Some relief has come in the fight against a Northern Nevada fire that has swallowed several homes and prompted Gov. Joe Lombardo to trigger a state of emergency.

But worsening Wednesday winds will rapidly grow the blaze south of Reno and small successes may be fickle.

The National Weather Service in Reno issued a rare “particularly dangerous situation” red flag warning, meaning that winds are expected to be more than 40 mph with gusts up to 70 miles an hour. It’s only the sixth warning of its type in the station’s history, meteorologist Hector Crespo said.

Crews from all over Nevada have been fighting what’s known as the Davis Fire — now about 31 percent contained — since it broke out Saturday afternoon. As of Tuesday evening, it covered more than 5,600 acres, or almost 9 square miles. In Lombardo’s letter declaring a state of emergency, he said about 20,000 people were under strict evacuation orders.

“I have a feeling you’re all sick and tired of hearing the word evacuation,” Truckee Meadows Fire Chief Charles Moore said at a Tuesday press briefing. “Tomorrow is, unfortunately, going to be one of those days we’re going to have to repeat that message.”

Moore said firefighting helicopters cannot fly when winds are that strong. Models show the fire moving up to 3 to 7 miles eastward toward homes, he said, which could cause more Nevadans who live east to be displaced from their homes.

About 2,300 NV Energy customers are without power because of efforts to “de-energize” certain lines to aid in firefighting. About 4,200 customers in the Arrow Creek and southwest Reno area will lose power to avoid making the fire worse on Wednesday, company Vice President Jesse Murray said.

Lombardo addresses residents

Lombardo spoke at the briefing and said his administration is making every effort to make sure all of Nevada’s resources are available to mitigate the fire.

He offered his sympathy to those who are and will be evacuated and stuck around to answer questions from community members.

“Property can be replaced, but your safety cannot,” Lombardo said. “We’re not here to shy away and avoid the tough questions.”

Several federal and state agencies are collaborating on the firefighting response, including the U.S. Forest Service’s Humboldt-Toiyabe firefighters from Mount Charleston and the Nevada National Guard.

Neil Lareau, a University of Nevada, Reno professor who studies fire weather, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the fire’s location in the direct path of populated areas is prompting swift action.

The red flag warning that the Weather Service issued on Tuesday is a clear sign that conditions might worsen despite the best efforts of firefighters, he said.

“Those winds descend like a cascade of water off of the high terrain,” Lareau said. “They are going to come slamming down into the Davis Fire. And there’s a portion of that fire that now sits above some of these neighborhoods at the base of the Mount Rose Highway.”

Politicians, fire officials mobilize

Ahead of the first presidential debate on Tuesday between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz toured the wildfire command center. During his later visit to Las Vegas on Tuesday, the Democrat spoke of the tough situation he saw.

“It’s a challenge. Folks are out of their homes, some folks have lost everything they had. Those are things that we work together to get done,” Walz said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency granted emergency aid on Monday for communities dealing with fires in California and Nevada, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said officials in the Biden-Harris administration are monitoring the Davis Fire.

U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday afternoon, thanking them for approving the FEMA emergency funds and urging Biden and his administration to stand by to grant more requests for aid.

“As the brave firefighting crews and first responders continue to work to manage and control the Davis Fire, I call on your Administration to stand ready to provide any resources needed to protect Northern Nevada,” Rosen wrote. “The reality of the situation is that there’s no longer just a fire season in Nevada, but instead, a constant threat.”

What’s ahead for Wednesday wasn’t definite. Stewart Turner, a Truckee Meadows fire behavior specialist, said models can be wrong, so officials must prepare as though the fire could move in any direction.

However, officials are paying the utmost attention to find solutions to the danger, he said.

“This is a very, very dangerous situation,” Turner said. “We’ll hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

For the most up-to-date information about evacuations, power outages and recovery efforts, visit the governor’s website at dem.nv.gov/Resources/Davis_Fire.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X. Staff writer Jessica Hill contributed to this report.