RENO, Nev. — A cloud of grayish-white smoke settled over upscale homes and horse pastures on the edge of Reno on Friday as firefighters from across Nevada came close to taming a sudden wildfire that sent 16 people to area hospitals for treatment, many for smoke inhalation, and destroyed at least 20 houses.
Authorities said the worst was likely over but warned that a change in the furious northern winds could refuel the sprawling fire that sent thousands of families fleeing from their homes in the middle of the night and blanketed the region’s mountain roads in amber flames. A 74-year-old man died of a heart attack while trying to leave his home.
Health officials urged residents to stay inside and reduce physical activity, warning that the dust and smoke were adding to pollution levels in the affected regions and downwind neighborhoods.
Snow flurries late Friday afternoon lifted hopes that the remaining showers of ember and ash would die down quickly.
At least 400 firefighters from as far as 260 miles away flocked to Reno early Friday as multiple fires roared from the Sierra Nevada foothills in northwestern Nevada and spread to the valley floor. Police went house to house, pounding on doors and urging residents to evacuate in the dark of the night.
“The whole mountain was on fire,” said Dick Hecht, who said that when he escaped from his home with his wife, it was so windy he could barely stand. “It was so smoky, you couldn’t hardly see.”
Gusts of up to 60 mph grounded firefighter 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.
The strong winds combined with the area’s dry terrain helped the fire spread from 400 acres to 2,000, or more than 3 square miles. Firefighters said their efforts spared 4,000 homes but the disaster would probably cost millions of dollars.
The cause of the blaze isn’t known, but a downed power line or homeless encampments in the area might be to blame, Fire Chief Mike Hernandez said.
