Cooler temperatures help slow state’s largest blaze

Tom Gardner

Tuesday, July 4, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - Cooler temperatures and higher humidities are working with fire crews as they battle steep terrain in an effort to stop the spread of the state's largest wildland fire of the season.

"It's looking good. There's improvements being made," fire spokeswoman Gina Moon said.

The Kelly Creek fire 12 miles northeast of Golconda was estimated on Tuesday at 41,000 acres, up sharply from Monday's 30,000 acres following aerial mapping by helicopter.

Temperatures and humidities in the 40s overnight along with light winds let crews make good progress against the flames. The area is now 60 percent contained and the fire is expected to be completely surrounded by nightfall.

Moon said the area was so remote that a handful of firefighters had to parachute in and would set up a small camp for the next few days with supplies being dropped to them.

The fire 200 miles northeast of Reno was the latest in a series of lightning-caused wildfires that have blackened more than 52,000 acres across northern Nevada over the past week. So far this year, 75,984 acres have been charred in 360 fires statewide.

Last year, 1.7 million acres burned with six of the top 10 Western wildfires in Nevada, five in the northern part of the state.

Moon said that with resources getting stretched, the big concern is that a holiday barbecue or fireworks will spark a new blaze.

"With the wind and the heat, everything's extra dry this year. Conditions are just like August should be," she said. "We just want to encourage everyone to be fire safe."

Most other fires that began Friday as thunderstorms moved though the state are contained or out, Moon said.

Those include a 7,600-acre blaze about 30 miles east of Reno in Lyon County. It was contained on Monday.

A 1,200-acre blaze eight miles northeast of Austin was 70 percent contained while a 2,000 acre fire 70 miles east of Fallon was fully contained.

No damage to homes or serious injuries have been reported, although some fires burned within 200 feet of homes 15 miles north of Reno last week.