Fire grows south of Elko

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 1999 | 11:06 a.m.

Thunderstorms were popping up across northern Nevada today and fire crews just hoped they packed more rain than lightning.

They were nearing containment of lightning-sparked wildland blazes that have burned more than 1.1 million acres of grass, scrub and small trees since Wednesday, mostly along a 200-mile corridor of Interstate 80.

Their biggest problem today was the Sadler Complex 45 miles south of Elko. It now stands at 297,000 acres, up 117,000 acres from 24 hours earlier.

While fire bosses said it was still growing, part of the change was due to more accurate mapping.

The largest fire so far, the so-called Dun Glenn Complex between Winnemucca and Lovelock is holding its own at 361,658 acres.

So far this year, 1.4 million acres or nearly 2,200 square miles of Nevada wildland have burned - more than any other state.

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