Rj Sangosti / Getty Images
Chantel Blunk, center, widow of Jonathan Blunk, leaves a handprint on Jonathan’s casket at Mountain View Cemetery, along with family and friends, on Aug. 3, 2012, in Reno, Nev. Blunk, a five-year U.S. Navy veteran, was killed in the July 20 mass shooting in Aurora, Colo.
Max Whittaker / Reuters
Sierra Fire Protection District Captain Jay Cwiak (C) and firefighter Vince Pilcher (R) mop up hot spots just south of Reno on Friday. A wind-driven fire that raged through parched brush near Reno, Nevada, engulfing at least 20 homes and forcing residents and livestock to flee by the thousands, was 50 percent contained on Friday morning, officials said.
The full story on msnbc.com reports that the fire resembles a previous blaze in the area:
The blaze was "almost a carbon copy" of a huge wild fire that destroyed 30 homes in southwest Reno in November, the fire chief said. It also forced the evacuation of 10,000 people.
"It's inconceivable that this community has been struck by tragedy again," said Gov. Brian Sandoval, who declared a state of emergency Thursday.
Cathleen Allison / AP
The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev., are seen on Friday. The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by wind gusts reaching 82 mph, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno.
Cathleen Allison / AP
Crews work to restore power after a wind-driven brush fire raced through Pleasant Valley, south of Reno.
James Glover II / Reuters
Crew members from the Nevada Department of Forestry work to control the Washoe Drive fire near a home in Washoe City, Nevada, on Jan. 19, 2012. The wind-driven fire raged through parched brush near Reno, Nevada, on Thursday, engulfing a number of homes, and prompting residents and livestock to flee by the thousands as belching smoke from the blaze forced the closure of a major highway.
James Glover II / Reuters
A home along Highway 395 stands in the path of the Washoe Drive fire in Washoe City on Jan. 19, 2012.
NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services report:
Firefighters worked early Friday to hold the line on a fast-moving brush fire that tore through the Reno area, destroying more than 20 homes and forcing thousands of residents to flee.
The blaze started shortly after noon Thursday and, fueled by wind gusts reaching 82 mph, mushroomed to more than 6 square miles in size before firefighters stopped its surge toward Reno. Read the full story.
See earlier pictures of the fire on PhotoBlog.
A raging wildfire burning near Reno, Nev., has forced thousands of people from their homes and is blamed for at least one death. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.
Cathleen Allison / AP
The ruins of a home in Pleasant Valley, south of Reno, Nev. smolders as firefighters battle a wind-driven brush fire on Thursday night.
Cathleen Allison / AP
Firefighters battle a fast-moving brush fire burns in Pleasant Valley in South Reno on Thursday.
NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services reports: More than 10,000 people have been evacuated as a wind-driven wildfire burns out of control near Reno, The Associated Press reports. Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez said hundreds of firefighters were "in the thick of battle" against a blaze that has burned across thousands of acres.
Gov. Brian Sandoval has declared a state of emergency.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, fire officials said that the brush fire began around noon just north of Washoe Lake and that the cause was under investigation. They said they were unsure how many homes had been burned. Earlier, NBC station KRNV reported that at least 10 homes had been lost.
High winds cause a brush fire to spread quickly south of Reno, Nevada, destroying at least 10 homes. Msnbc.com's Al Stirrett reports.
Max Whittaker / Reuters
Madeleine Perry, left, and her mother Karen Reuter comfort each other as they look over the remains of Karen's mother's burned home in Reno, Nev., Nov. 19. Nevada's governor declared a state of emergency on Friday over a wildfire raging at the edge of a hilly Reno suburb that has damaged 32 structures, forced nearly 10,000 people from their homes, burned 2,000 acres and was blamed for an elderly man's death.
According to msnbc.com staff and news service reports:
The wind grounded firefighting helicopters and made it difficult for firefighters to approach Caughlin Ranch, the affluent subdivision bordering pine-forested hills where the fire likely began after 12:30 a.m. It also helped the fire spread from 400 acres to more than 3 square miles.
The gusts were comparable to the Santa Ana winds that often aggravate and spread wildfires in the hills surrounding Los Angeles, officials said.
"The wind is horrific," said Reno spokeswoman Michele Anderson. "We just watched a semi nearly blow over on the freeway."
Read the full story here.
Max Whittaker / Reuters
Joelle Greene is overcome with emotion as she views the remains of her burned home in Reno, Nev., Nov. 19.
Max Whittaker / Reuters
Joanna Irwin, left, and Tim Galvin comfort each other as they look over the remains of their burned home in Reno, Nev., Nov. 19.
Cathleen Allison / AP
A 400-acre brush fire burns in south Reno, Nev. on Nov. 18, 2011. The fire has claimed at least one life, injured several others, destroyed dozens of homes and blanketed Reno and its suburban enclaves in a fiery curtain as violent winds sidelined firefighters and rescue helicopters.
Cathleen Allison / AP
A Reno firefighter tries to save an outbuilding as a house burns on Friday near Reno.
Liz Margerum / The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP
Residents watch a fire, near homes along Manzanita Lane near Broken Arrow, spread in Reno, Nev. on Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. Nevada firefighters are battling a wind-whipped wildfire that has already burned several homes and caused several injuries. Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez says fire crews are having a tough time "getting ahead of" the 400-acre blaze. He also says flames broke off into two areas in Caughlin Ranch. Hernandez says about a dozen homes have burned.
Nevada has declared a state of emergency as a wildfire in Reno has taken over 400-acres, destroyed over 20 homes and caused the evacuation of thousands.
NBC News and msnbc.com reports:
"It's tough man, it's tough," Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez told the Reno Gazette-Journal on Friday. "The winds are not helping us at all."
High winds are expected until about midnight. Winds were forecast out of the southwest at 20-35 mph with gusts up to 65 mph, the National Weather Service said. Downslope gusts up to 80 mph were possible in the foothills.
For the complete story: Reno declares state of emergency as wildfire blazes
A major wildfire in Reno, Nev., has burned at least 20 structures and has caused the closure of nearly 100 schools. Msnbc's Craig Melvin reports.
Tim O'Brien/Grass Valley Union via AP
A P-51 Mustang airplane is shown upside down, then vertical, right before crashing at the Reno Air show on Friday, Sept. 16, 2011 in Reno Nevada. The plane plunged into the stands at the event in what an official described as a "mass casualty situation."
Marilyn Newton /The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP file
This Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 photo, shows longtime Reno Air Race pilot Jimmy Leeward with his P51 Mustang. A spokesman for Reno's National Championship Air Races says the P-51 Mustang that crashed into a box seat area at the front of the grandstand Friday, Sept. 16, 2011, at the air race was piloted by Leeward.
A vintage plane crashed near the stands at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, with at least 75 injuries reported. NBC's George Lewis reports.
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