(VIDEO) Hawk Fire Near Reno Tops 10,500 Acres as Nevada Declares State of Emergency in Washoe County Saturday

RENO, Nev. — A fast-moving wildfire burning in the mountains northwest of Reno grew to more than 10,500 acres by Saturday evening, forcing thousands of residents from their homes and prompting Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo to declare a state of emergency in Washoe County as dry, windy conditions continued to fuel the blaze.

The fire, named the Hawk Fire, was first spotted just before 11:30 a.m. Saturday and expanded rapidly throughout the day, reaching 2,500 acres by early afternoon before continuing to grow to 10,523 acres by Saturday evening, according to figures from the mapping platform Perimeter Map. According to CNN, the fast-growing brush fire forced residents of northwestern Reno from their homes Saturday night, prompting Lombardo's emergency declaration in Washoe County.

The Hawk Fire is burning in a mountainous area with roughly 1,000 homes located along U.S. Highway 395, according to 8 News Now. The area lies north of Interstate 80 and south of U.S. 395, a region with extensive roads but relatively limited development. Reno officials advised residents in the affected area to evacuate to the Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center, the same evacuation center previously used for two other wildfires, the Bug Fire and the Stallion Fire, that had burned in the same general area earlier this month and have since been contained.

Reno police asked residents to check the Perimeter Map platform for up-to-date evacuation information, according to La Voce di New York. Portions of Highway 395 were shut down as a result of the fire's rapid growth, further complicating evacuation efforts and travel through the affected region.

Saturday's fire adds to what has already been an intense and sustained wildfire season for the area north of Reno. Earlier this month, the Bug Fire, Stallion Fire and Fred Mountain Fire burned simultaneously in the same general region, prompting more than 13,000 residents to evacuate at the height of that combined threat, according to the Nevada Army National Guard. Eleven structures were lost across those earlier fires, though officials noted that initial fire behavior predictions had forecast far worse outcomes than what ultimately occurred following the fires' ignition on Aug. 9.

Col. Kyle Cerfoglio, director of the Nevada Joint Staff, whose own home fell within Washoe County's "get ready to evacuate" zone during that earlier fire complex, credited the rapid emergency response for preventing more severe damage. "There's no doubt this fire would have been much worse had it not been for the quick and rapid response from first responders around the region," Cerfoglio said. "This fire came dangerously close to many homes." The Bug Fire ultimately reached 93,733 acres before crews achieved 94% containment, while the Stallion Fire reached 95% containment after also burning tens of thousands of acres, according to the Nevada Army National Guard's summary of the earlier response.

That earlier fire complex expanded dramatically in the days following Nevada's initial state of emergency declaration. According to 8 News Now, the combined perimeter of the Bug and Fred Mountain fires grew by more than 500% in the days after Lombardo's initial emergency declaration, driven by wind gusts reaching up to 30 mph, eventually stretching evacuation zones from the California border to areas roughly 30 miles east near the southern tip of Pyramid Lake. At the height of that earlier crisis, the combined fire perimeter approached 100,000 acres, with water-scooping aircraft working to defend homes and other structures directly in the fires' path.

Deputy Chief Shannon Lewis of the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District emphasized the importance of prompt evacuation compliance during the earlier fire response, guidance that remains directly relevant to residents now facing the Hawk Fire. "If we do have an evacuation warning it is so important to leave," Lewis said. "If you are leaving at the last minute its gonna slow our resources down. And also you could get stuck in a traffic jam and you wont be able to get out and the fire could get close to your vehicle."

The scale of destruction from earlier wildfires in the broader Reno-area region has varied significantly depending on wind conditions and terrain. During a separate, earlier wind-driven wildfire that burned between Reno and Carson City, an estimated 18 homes were lost in Washoe Valley, with Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District Chief Charles Moore warning at the time that the entire Washoe Valley area was considered at risk given the fire's unpredictable behavior amid winds gusting in excess of 70 mph along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada.

Evacuation centers established during earlier fires in the region have sheltered significant numbers of displaced residents. According to This Is Reno, the Evelyn Mount Community Center sheltered nearly 70 residents during one recent evacuation period, with additional evacuees staying outside in the parking lot overnight due to capacity constraints. Air quality monitoring conducted by Northern Nevada Public Health during that earlier fire event found conditions generally in the "good" to "moderate" range across most of Washoe County, though areas near and downwind of the fire experienced unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups or worse.

Officials have repeatedly emphasized the importance of residents relying on official channels, including the Perimeter Map platform and the Watch Duty app, for accurate, real-time evacuation information rather than unverified reports circulating on social media. Residents have also been asked to reserve 911 calls specifically for new emergencies, with general information available through the Washoe311 non-emergency information line.

With the Hawk Fire continuing to burn at 0% containment amid dry, windy conditions Saturday evening, officials have not provided a timeline for when containment efforts might begin gaining meaningful ground. Given the pattern established by earlier fires in the same region this month, further evacuation orders and warnings are likely as fire crews, the Nevada National Guard, and mutual aid resources from surrounding states continue working to protect homes and infrastructure across the fire's expanding perimeter northwest of Reno.