Highway 395 open after firefighters hold back wildfire

Flames could be seen in Gardnerville from a 2,000-acre wildfire that raged through the Pine Nuts above Pine View Estates on Tuesday.

Highway 395 was reopened by the Nevada Highway Patrol at 10:41 p.m. The highway had been closed for seven hours.

Nearly 200 firefighters were working on the fire as Douglas County deputies went door-to-door through Pine View Estates and the Pine Nuts warning residents about the fire.

More than 100 people chose to evacuate, according to East Fork Fire Capt. Terry Taylor.

"The fire is still active on the Gardnerville side," he said. "It's still torching trees up there and spotting."

The fire was burning in heavy pinon pine and juniper to within about five miles of outer Ruhenstroth.

"The wind moved the fire very quickly this afternoon," Taylor said. "The trees on the west side are so close together they are torching each other."

As of 10:20 p.m. the fire was stopped at Highway 395 and southeast toward Topaz Ranch Estates. It continues to burn northeast up the mountain.

Taylor confirmed that two structures were burned, but could not confirm that they were homes.

"We don't think they are houses," he said.

The fire started at 3:18 p.m., and is burning seven miles south of Gardnerville. On Tuesday, as many as seven air tankers and four helicopters worked with 13 handcrews to battle the blaze.

The column of smoke could be seen from as far away as Reno and Fallon as it rose up above the Pine Nuts like a volcanic eruption.

Taylor said the fire was definitely human-caused, but it was too early to determine if it was deliberate or accidental.

He said the Bureau of Land Management, Douglas County Sheriff's Office and East Fork are doing the investigation.