A bird landing on a power line and falling into nearby brush is believed to have caused a wildfire on State Route 341, the truck route, near Virginia City early Friday morning, according to Storey County Emergency Services Manager Joe Curtis.
Curtis said the Truck Route fire was reported at 12:16 a.m. by someone who saw it from Highway 50, and that it burned between seven and 10 acres, all in Storey County.
No structures were threatened, and their were no injuries, Curtis said.
Central Lyon County Fire District, the Nevada Department of Forestry and the Sierra Front of Washoe County all assisted in extinguishing the blaze, which Curtis said was contained at 3:30 a.m.
In other fires in Northern Nevada:
• Three lightning-caused fires east of Reno near the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center off Interstate 80 merged into one Friday evening. The Olinghouse fire had burned 350 acres of grass as of 9 p.m.
Storey County and Nevada Division of Forestry units, with assistance from Reno Fire Department and Bureau of Land Management crews, battled the fire.
One unknown structure was reported threatened.
As of 11 p.m., there was no estimate of containment.
• A small wildland fire burning half way up Jobs Peak on the west side of Carson Valley Friday evening was expected to be visible through the night.
As of 9 p.m., the Fay-Luther fire, named after the trail off Foothill Road south of Genoa, was approximately 3 acres and growing at a moderate rate.
U.S. Forest Service crews are working the fire.
Terrain is steep, which has hampered ground access. No structures were threatened and there was no estimate of containment.
• Fire crews have contained a 40-acre fire on Peavine Mountain north of Verdi, which is off Interstate 80 west of Reno.
The Boomtown fire, burning in grass and brush, was contained about 9 p.m. Friday.
Crews from the Nevada Division of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service and Reno Fire departments battled the fire with six engines, two air tankers and one handcrew.
No structures were threatened.