The Tamarack Fire burns in the Markleeville community of Alpine County, Calif., on Saturday, July 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Tuesday night, as the fire appeared to burn ever closer to Double Spring Flat in the Pine Nuts south of Gardnerville, residents from Leviathan Mine Road south to Holbrook were asked to evacuate.
An evacuation center was set up at the Topaz Ranch Estates Community Center for that new influx of evacuees.
At dawn Wednesday, homes and the forest within sight of Highway 395 were still intact, while smoke continued to rise over the ridge.
The fire has seen significant crowning and spotting ahead of it, and fire officials say the timber is as dry as it can be, so the possibility it could still expand into inhabited areas of Douglas County remains.
The northeastern flank of the fire reached up into the area north of Leviathan Mine toward the Pine Nuts and Highway 395 on Wednesday.
Douglas County Sheriff Dan Coverley asked residents to be mindful of the fire and to have a plan should they evacuate.
“Keep in mind there could be power outages and road closures,” he said at a briefing 6 p.m. Tuesday. “If there’s something you’re going to need, take care of it now, so you have it when you need it.”
The county is encouraging residents to sign up for reverse 911 so they can be notified if there’s a danger from the fire.
To sign up visit douglascounty.onthealert.com and register your mobile phone number and physical address.
Streams of cars were northbound on Highway 395 from the south county on Tuesday afternoon as firefighters staged near Leviathan Mine Road and watched the smoke come closer.
Fire officials expressed concern Tuesday that the Tamarack Fire might burn into Fredericksburg in Carson Valley.
Searchers reported going door to door in the Pine Nuts on Tuesday night. Washoe Tribe Police notified residents of the Tribal allotments.
Only the governor can order mandatory evacuations in Nevada, but that doesn’t mean residents shouldn’t follow emergency responders advice.
Evacuees may bring their pets with them to the evacuation centers at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center and the Topaz Ranch Estates Community Center. Livestock is being evacuated to the Carson City Fairgrounds because Douglas already was booked for events.
Alpine County residents have been subject to mandatory evacuations since Friday evening when the fire charged down Pleasant Valley toward Markleeville.
Until the fire started to grow again on Tuesday afternoon, Alpine County was providing escorts for evacuees to check on their homes.
Escorts resumed on Wednesday morning.
