Fire Weather Watch issued for region; NV Energy warns of ‘likely’ outage in Incline Village

The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a Fire Weather Watch for gusty winds and low humidity, which is in effect from Thursday morning through Friday evening.

The watch area includes Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, Lyon, Storey and Washoe counties.

“The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them,” the NWS said in a post to its website.

Due to the watch, NV Energy has issued a news release that it may shut off power in Incline Village on Friday to help reduce fire risk.

“… a Public Safety Outage Management event is likely on Friday,” starting at 7 a.m., the release said. “This outage will impact 8,783 customers and is expected to last approximately 11 hours.”

NV Energy said the timeframe includes the duration of the weather event plus time for crews to inspect lines for damage.

Impacted customers have been notified via phone, text and email messages, the release said. Customers are encouraged to have an emergency plan in place.

A drive-through Customer Resource Center will be available at Diamond Peak Ski Resort, 1210 Ski Way in Incline Village, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The CRC will offer charging devices, light snacks, water and outage updates.

During a Public Safety Outage Management event, power is shut off to help prevent power lines or debris blowing into power lines and other equipment from causing a wildfire when certain environmental conditions are met.

Additional information, including outage preparedness tips, PSOM criteria and maps of the impacted zone can be found online at nvenergy.com/psom.

Customers can make sure their contact information is up to date by visiting nvenergy.com/myaccount or calling NV Energy at 775-834-4444.

The National Weather Service said sustained winds of 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 40 mph are possible Thursday and Friday.

The strongest gusts Thursday could be U.S. Highway 50 north and on Friday could be U.S. Highway 50 south. Winds in valleys should weaken late Thursday evening, while Sierra ridges continue to gust in the 70-90 mph range overnight.

Humidity is forecast at 10 to 20% Thursday, with some locations in western Nevada in the single digits. Humidity may increase Friday, especially across northeast California.

Winds could remain gusty throughout most of Thursday and Friday.

The NWS recommends avoiding outdoor activities that can cause a spark near dry vegetation, such as yard work, target shooting, or campfires.

Follow local fire restrictions. Check weather.gov/reno for updates and livingwithfire.info for preparedness tips.