Carson City fire rages

Cy Ryan and Ed Koch

Thursday, July 15, 2004 | 11:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Firefighters this morning were trying to contain a raging wildfire on the west edge of Carson City that was believed to be started by teens.

Authorities were looking for a 1978 Dodge truck with Nevada plates 250NYZ and the Sheriff's Department has interviewed potential witnesses regarding the fire's origin, officials said. The fire, which had spread to 8,500 acres with no containment in sight, injured four firefighters and a reporter and destroyed 16 structures and threatened 550 other homes and businesses Wednesday.

Nearly 180 residents were displaced and spent much of Wednesday at a shelter at Carson High School, where an interagency command post was set up.

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong called this the worst fire Carson City has ever seen. He said it may have been started at a juvenile party in the mountains about 3 a.m. Wednesday.

Furlong said deputies are patrolling the area to prevent any looting of homes.

Robin Darney, who lost her home in the blaze, said the sheriff's office patrols seven to eight times a day trying to keep kids out of the area.

She, her husband, Robert, and five children were evacuated at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, and learned this morning that their home had been destroyed.

Robin said she was "devastated" by the loss of the home, which had an estimated value of $750,000. She said the couple was able to save photographs and important papers but nothing else.

Robert's grandparents built the home in the upper part of Kings Canyon. Robin said the family intends to rebuild in the same location.

"We're still in shock," she said.

Bruce Wade, emergency services director for the American Red Cross in Carson City, said his agency registered 179 people seeking services at the shelter Wednesday afternoon. All but two were allowed to return to their homes by midnight, when the fire passed their homes.

"This is the worst we have seen in years," said Wade, who said he placed a call to the Clark County Chapter of the American Red Cross for volunteers to go to Carson City.

A four-mile curtain of smoke continued to rise this morning from the wildfire.

Winds eased overnight, temperatures cooled and the humidity rose to allow an estimated 890 firefighters to return to the lines after Wednesday's wind-driven firestorm chased them from the flames, leaving the battle to seven air tankers and 10 helicopters.

The aircraft on Wednesday dumped 160,000 gallons of retardant on the fire that began near Kings Canyon, 30 miles south of Reno, said the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch office.

"It's so dry up here and the fire has burned so fast over rugged terrain," Wade said. "It has been a real challenge for firefighters. It has been hard to get to the fire because there is just so much smoke."

Clark County Deputy Fire Chief William Kourim, an experienced commander at significant local fires and for wild land emergencies, was being dispatched today to Carson City, spokesman Bob Leinbach said.

Gusty winds Wednesday pushed the out-of-control fire to an area of upscale homes. At one point the fire, which stretched for about four miles along Carson City's western edge, was within half a mile of the governor's mansion.

"It's not very far from us here," Gov. Kenny Guinn said. "The trees are just exploding."

Paddy Hardy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service, said the winds died down during the night but were expected to pick this morning.

There are 1,000 fire trucks in operation throughout the fire the scene, officials said. All of the state prison fire inmate crews from Southern Nevada have been flown in to battle the flames, they said.

"It's absolute devastation up there," Furlong said.

The sheriff said he counted six houses "burned -- and I mean burned down to their foundations" -- and another home was damaged in the area. The homes had a combined value of several million dollars.

Guinn said he is meeting today with those who lost their homes and to talk about possible aid.

Michael Hillerby, chief of staff for Guinn, said the state Division of Emergency Planning is assessing the cost and how much the federal government will share.

"The emergency planning will let us know the option, if any," he said.

There is $4 million in the state's emergency fund. Hillerby said the state is prepared to tap that to keep residents safe.

The cost just of fighting the fire was estimated this morning at $500,000.

About 80 people attended a morning briefing about the fire today. One man whose house was saved yelled out, "Thank God for the fire department. They saved our house." Another woman said the firefighters never stopped in their efforts to control the flames.

Stacie Giomi of the Carson City Fire Department told residents who lost their homes or whose homes were threatened, "Every control measure we tried did not work." He said the fire had an "erratic" pattern.

One firefighter broke a leg, another suffered back and neck injuries and two others suffered burns, said Christie Kalkowski, spokeswoman for the Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden.

One of the burned firefighters was with a crew trapped briefly when the rapidly moving blaze leapfrogged their position and destroyed their fire engine.

KOLO-TV, Reno, reporter John Tyson suffered minor burns on his hands and face. His vehicle was destroyed, along with an ambulance, as the fire spread in all directions through dry brush, grass and timber.

However, the U.S. Forest Service said the blaze has been upgraded to Class I, which means more resources will be brought in, including national experts. Robinson said the upgrade could add an additional $1 million a day in costs.

Sierra Front spokesman Scott Huntley said that as the fire spread south from the Waterfall area it forced a temporary closure of U.S. 395 -- Carson's main street -- and also badly damaged an auto body shop just one block from the highway.

State workers were allowed to go home early to make plans for evacuation or to get through to Reno before the highway was closed.

In some areas firefighters had to pull away from homes because of the intensity of the fire, which was fanned by wind gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, he said.

"It's just unreal," said Judy Staub, who lost her home of 22 years. "It was burned down and everything was gone but an old antique wagon."

"People say 'Judy, you have your children and your husband and your dog' and I say I know that. But so many memories are gone," she added. "I never dreamed I'd experience something like this."

"I just can't believe it," said Sierra Gitlin, 26, a neighbor who fled from her house with her dog and cat, some pictures, her grandmother's jewelry and a computer.

"It's not the stuff. It's the heart and soul we've put into it. It's our dream house."

Carson City Fire Chief Dan Shirley said the fire, which created a huge plume of smoke over the city, became increasingly unpredictable in the afternoon.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.