Cooler Weather Helps Crews Fighting Nevada Wildfire
RENO — Cooler temperatures are working with fire crews as they battle steep terrain in an effort to stop the spread of the state’s largest wildfire of the season.
“It’s looking good. There’s improvements being made,†fire spokeswoman Gina Moon said Monday.
“If the wind doesn’t do anything the crews can’t handle out there, we might have this thing wrapped up in a few days.â€
The Kelly Creek fire, 12 miles northeast of Golconda, is being estimated at about 30,000 acres, Moon said, although a more accurate figure was expected after a helicopter crew maps the rugged scene.
Temperatures dipped into the 40s overnight and humidity levels rose slightly, although winds did not subside as much as firefighters had hoped.
Moon said the area was so remote that a few firefighters had to parachute in and would set up a small camp for the next few days. Supplies are to be dropped to them.
The fire 200 miles northeast of Reno was the latest in a series of lightning-caused wildfires that have blackened more than 45,000 acres across northern Nevada over the past week. So far this year, 75,984 acres have been charred in 360 fires statewide.
Last year, 1.7 million acres burned and six of the West’s top 10 wildfires were in Nevada, five of them in the northern part of the state.
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