Overnight work near Mount Rose Highway to upgrade lines ahead of today’s critical fire danger. Photo by US Forest Service
Due to updated weather forecasts, NV Energy has canceled a public safety alert for power outages for Genoa, Glenbrook and South Carson City.
The power outage warning was issued Monday after the National Weather Service predicted extreme fire danger for the Carson Range.
322 customers would have been affected.
“The company advises customers that unplanned power outages may continue due to stronger than normal winds,” said spokeswoman Katie Nannini.
Strong winds are forecast on the Sierra Front today.
More information, including tips on preparing for power outages, can be found here. Customers can also sign up for My Account to receive automatic SMS and email notifications of outages and other important updates.
Although the outage is not related to the Davis fire, it is intended to prevent live power lines from sparking new fires in strong winds.
Meanwhile, firefighters have used bulldozers to build lines near the Sky Tavern and on both sides of the Mount Rose Highway.
The flames visible overnight were part of a counter-fire operation to improve fire lines.
“A successful fire suppression effort was conducted near Highway 431 last night to secure fire breaks,” fire officials said Wednesday morning. “Firefighters continue to provide structure protection in all affected communities. Additional firefighters from across the country are arriving to support the effort.”
With the majority of the fire burning in rugged terrain near the Mount Rose Highway, aircraft played a critical role in response efforts Tuesday.
However, due to today’s strong winds, their participation will be lower.
“Today’s aerial operations will be limited due to wind and smoke,” officials said. “Since yesterday, rotorcraft have dropped 208,000 gallons of water, Super Scoopers contributed 196,000 gallons. Additionally, fixed-wing aircraft dropped 98,000 gallons of fire retardant. Bulldozer lines have been established near the Sky Tavern area and north and south of Highway 431.”
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The National Interagency Coordination Center’s situation report on Wednesday morning reported the loss of 65 buildings in the Davis Fire.
According to the report released at 6:30 a.m., the Davis Fire has burned 5,646 acres and $2.8 million.
The increase of 14 buildings compared to the previous report likely reflects the ability to enter areas that were previously too dangerous due to the fire.
There wasn’t as much smoke rising from the Davis Fire Wednesday morning, although firefighters reported they had drawn a containment line around nearly a third of the blaze in Washoe County.
The Calaveras Alert Wildfire camera showed the fire burning through the night but slowing down a bit by daybreak, giving firefighters a short time to secure their lines before a “particularly dangerous situation” with the wind would occur later in the morning.
A wildfire warning is in effect for the entire Sierra Front. Meteorologists are predicting critical fire conditions for at least six hours this afternoon, with winds of 15 to 30 mph and gusts of over 70 mph on the ridges, according to the Truckee Meadows Fire Department.
This is where the fire raged most intensely overnight, according to a satellite map from the Fire Information Resource System, which shows fires on both sides of the Mount Rose Highway.
Computer models on pyrecast.org predicted that the fire would continue to spread into the Carson Range and north toward Galena over the next twelve hours.
