Evacuations Expanded South as Hawk Fire Swells to Over 10,000 Acres
The Hawk Fire in northwest Reno grew to more than 10,500 acres, prompting new mandatory evacuations in Somersett, Lemmon Valley and other North Valley neighborhoods, while state officials declared a local emergency.
The wildfire known as the Hawk Fire burned over 10,500 acres on Saturday, threatening roughly 1,000 homes in northwest Reno and the North Valleys. At 10 p.m., Washoe County officials expanded mandatory evacuation orders to include the Somersett community north of Somersett Parkway to Robb Drive, as well as neighborhoods north of West 7th Street to North McCarran Boulevard. The red “go now” zones now cover areas such as Rancho San Rafael Regional Park, the northern side of Kings Row, McQueen High School, Sierra Vista Park and the Somersett Golf and Country Club.
The evacuation perimeter also extended north of Interstate 80, from Everett Drive west to Boomtown and Cabela Drive, though Cabela’s itself remains outside any evacuation zone. Residents are advised to check perimetermap.com for precise boundaries and to use the Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center at 1301 Valley Road, which has reached capacity. A new shelter was opened in Hall 4 of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center at 4590 South Virginia Street.
Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency for Washou County, directing state agencies to coordinate through the Nevada Emergency Operations Center to support local response efforts. He urged residents to follow all official warnings and to evacuate immediately if ordered.
University of Nevada, Reno confirmed that its campus is not currently within an evacuation or “get ready” zone, though university leadership continues to monitor the situation. The North Valleys emergency department of Northern Nevada Medical Center was temporarily closed as patients and staff were relocated.
Traffic on U.S. Highway 395 was halted in both directions between Parr Boulevard and Red Rock Road, with northbound traffic closed and southbound lanes kept open for evacuation movements. Authorities warned motorists to remain on the highway when traveling south toward Reno.
Nevada Energy reported that nearly 48,700 customers across the Reno-Sparks area were without power, including more than 21,000 in the North Valleys. The utility could not confirm that all outages were caused by the fire.
Local fire chiefs and the Washoe County sheriff reiterated that residents should stay out of the North Valleys unless necessary to allow emergency personnel to operate safely. The sheriff’s office also issued a warning that while much of the evacuation area is sparsely populated, conditions can change rapidly.
The Hawk Fire, which started around 11:30 a.m. near Cold Creek Trail north of Somersett, continues to move northeast toward North Virginia Street. The incident is being managed under a unified command by the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District, the U.S. Forest Service and local fire agencies, with additional support requested from Cal Fire.