Como fire to be contained by tonight

The Como fire in southwest Lyon County is expected to be fully contained by this afternoon.

The fire was reported about 3 p.m. Thursday, seven miles southeast of Dayton near the junction of Dayton Valley Road and Como Mine Road, which leads to the ghost town of Como in the Pine Nut Mountains.

The fire burned about 471 acres in steep, rugged terrain and was fueled by heavy sagebrush, piñon and juniper pine trees. About 271 personnel responded and crews remained on the scene overnight. Aircraft was brought in from Chico, Calif.

By 4:30 p.m. Friday, it was reported to be 80 percent contained. Multiple federal, state and local agencies responded, including Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Nevada Division of Forestry, Central Lyon County Fire, Carson City Fire and Storey County Fire.

Sierra Front spokesman Mark Struble said favorable weather conditions made it possible to control the blaze quickly.

"The greatest thing that happened was the winds slowed down. Anytime in this kind of country out here, when you get the winds gusting at 40 to 50 mph, it's quite a challenge to get your arms around it. We've gone from essentially very little containment early this morning to 80 percent now," he said Friday afternoon.

No structures were lost, but the fire did jeopardize a seasonal cabin and the Rawe Peak communications site that supports radio communications for the BLM, Lyon County, Storey County, NDF and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.