Evacuations are mandatory, and a few homes have reportedly been consumed. KOLO8 TV has preempted regular programming for fire coverage. Their WeatherDude reports steady 35 MPH winds in the Washoe Valley and 100MPH gusts up on the ridgetops.
Hwy 395 is closed, and Vice President Joe Biden's speech at Galena High School has been cut short to allow time to evacuate!
The fire has a name now, The Washoe Fire. It's not the only fire either...I looked at Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center page and saw The Jack's Valley Fire.
KOLO8 is streaming their coverage now, and will cover a live press conference at 5PM.
NWS Reno has extended Wind Warnings and Red Flag Warnings until 10PM.
If we don't get more of a precipitation pattern this year here in the north state Spring will be shorter than average and the wildfire season will get an early start.
ReplyDeleteSpring is always short in this part of the valley. Once the rains stop in March or April, the heat comes on fast. If they stop in March, we may get a couple weeks of moderate temperatures and then they jump right up into the Fahrenheit high 80s and 90s.
On the obverse, Fall is in many ways a second Spring here (especially if there is a little precipitation) and lasts much longer than the official Spring. The California poppy and some other native wildflowers will sprout and often come into flower before the cold weather hits. But not all seeds as plenty remain dormant until the next Spring.