Fire burns up the hill between Alpine View and Jacks Valley on Wednesday. The 700-acre fire was 75 percent contained by 10 p.m..
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
9:30 a.m. Update
The fire is now 85 percent contained according to U.S. Forest Service Spokeswoman Withanee Milligan. After mapping the fire is estimated at 285 acres.
"The fire exhibited extreme fire behavior during initial attack. High winds drove the fire to the south and east, prompting several evacuations in the Indian Hills and Jacks Valley area and closing Jacks Valley Road,” Milligan said.
Fire crews will continue to hold and improve established lines around the entire fire perimeter and begin mopping up, extinguishing any hot spots within the fire. Winds are predicted to be stronger in the morning and then reduce in the afternoon.
For more tips on fire prevention, visit https://www.nevadafireinfo.org/prevention.
For tips on hardening your home to wildfire, visit https://www.livingwithfire.com/.
7:30 a.m. Update
Evacuations from the Jacks Valley fire in northern Douglas County have been lifted and Jacks Valley Road has reopened. Fire officials expect to have the Jacks Valley fire contained today.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized the use of federal funds to assist Nevada in combating the Jacks Valley Fire, which is burning in Douglas County.
On Wednesday, the state submitted a request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Jacks Valley Fire. At the time of the request, the fire threatened approximately 1,000 homes in and around the community of Indian Hills. The fire also threatened 10 businesses, a school, water tanks and high voltage transmission lines.
The request was approved on Wednesday as the fire threatened to become a major incident.
The grant provides federal funding for up to 75 percent of eligible firefighting costs. Eligible costs covered by the grant can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization, and demobilization activities attributed to fighting the fire.
Watch for firefighting traffic when traveling through the neighborhood.
10 p.m. Update
Despite strong winds, firefighters have a line around three-quarters of a 700-acre wildfire burning in north Douglas County tonight.
“They worked really hard and got 75 percent containment, which is awesome,” said U.S. Forest Service Spokeswoman Withanee Milligan.
There have been no reports the fire has claimed any structures.
She said that 250 firefighters were onscene fighting the fire and cleaning up hotspots.
Evacuations of neighborhoods in Jacks Valley and Indian Hills will remain in effect overnight.
Two single-engine air tankers and two helicopters helped corral the fire before the sun went down.
One thing that didn’t significantly decrease with sunset was the winds which were still gusting to 30 mph at 9:30 p.m.
Firefighters will continue to work on a line around the Jacks Valley and Indian Hills neighborhoods overnight. Freezing temperatures are expected as a cold front passes through Western Nevada.
Power was shut off to 934 NVEnergy customers at the request of firefighters. Electricity is expected to be restored by 11:15 p.m.
Jacks Valley Road will remain closed through the night.
Update: Evacuations in front of a fast-moving brush fire were expanded from Jacks Valley to Indian Hills south of Mica toward James Lee Park.
Winds clocked at faster than 41 mph were driving the wind east from where it started near Jacks Valley and Bavarian over a ridge between Alpine View and Indian Hills in northern Douglas County.
The fire is reportedly 700 acres with no containment. The cause is under investigation.
Personnel on scene reported the fire slowed down after crossing the ridge and was coming to within 150 yards of homes at one point.
Search and Rescue Team members who were alerting residents along Arcadia in Jacks Valley said firefighters were extinguishing the last of the hotspots in the area.
The region south of Jacks Valley Road is covered in thick bitter brush and desert peach, but has recently been thinned in places in an effort to improve fire prevention.
East Fork firefighters called a second alarm around the time the fire crested the hill just east of Jacks Valley Road.
Units from Carson City and surrounding jurisdictions responded to help extinguish the blaze.
NV Energy shut off power to 1,007 Douglas County customers in connection with the fire.
Power is expected to be restored by 11:15 p.m., according to nvenergy.com
The East Fork Fire Protection District has asked us to shut off power for safety in the area of the #JacksValleyFire. 844 customers are impacted. We will restore power when it is safe to do so. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Previous update
A fast-moving brush fire closed Jacks Valley Road pushed by high winds.
Emergency personnel initiated evacuations of the neighborhood east of the fire, including residents of Arcadia, Cherokee, Pawnee, Green Acres and Shawnee drives south of Jacks Valley Road. Deputies and members of Douglas County Search and Rescue were tasked with alerting residents.
An evacuation center has been established at the Douglas County Community & Senior Center. Residents are asked to leave the area of the fire immediately.
The county also issued an emergency alert and will issue a Reverse 911 call.
The fire started around 4:30 p.m. along the road near Bavarian Drive and was burning east up the hill.
A command post set up at Jacks Valley Elementary School was moved to the Jacks Valley Target as the fire moved south of the school.
East Fork firefighters responded to the blaze, calling out a second alarm and seeking aid from surrounding agencies.
Units were seeking to access the fire from Indian Hills and Jacks Valley.
Firefighters said there were several onlookers watching the fire.
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The Arcadia fire is currently burning on Jacks Valley Road, west of Jacks Valley Elementary School.
Jacks Valley Road is currently closed.
The fire was reported about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Fire crews are on scene fighting the wind-aided fire.
The fire can be seen from an Alert Tahoe Fire camera.
http://www.alertwildfire.org/tahoe/?camera=Axis-McPeak
Story will be updated.
The fire is burning West of Jacks Valley Elementary School according to a public safety alert.
https://twitter.com/RecordCourierNV/status/1402777891117551620
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