Photos by Eric Marks

Evacuated residents filled the bleachers at Depaoli Middle School on Tuesday night and thousands more tuned in to a livestream on Facebook to hear updates from officials with the Southwest Incident Management Team (IMT) that has taken over operational control of the Davis Fire. The mood was one of concern as residents sat quietly for an hour and listened to updates—both grim and reassuring—-from nearly two dozen fire and law enforcement leaders.

West Reno residents should prepare for evacuations Wednesday morning. Fire officials said they expect conditions to worsen. 

The meeting kicked off with news that firefighters had reached 31% containment along the eastern edge of the fire and that residents living in Washoe City and Pleasant Valley areas could return with an evacuation warning still in place. The fire hadn’t grown much by Tuesday evening either, reaching an estimated 5,646 acres. 

The news drew a round of applause before more sobering updates were delivered. 

Among the updates shared was a model of what could happen with the fire based on Wednesday’s weather forecast—calling for a “Particularly Dangerous Situation” (PDS) alert, which is more severe than a red flag warning—and models developed by IMT Fire Behavior Analyst Stewart Turner. According to Turner, the high winds and dry fuels would likely ground all air attacks on the fire and could push it three to seven miles north along the western slope. 

Officials expanded evacuation warning areas in southwest Reno west of Thomas Creek Road through Arrowcreek, north along the Ballardini Open Space, across Bartley Ranch Park and up to South McCarran Boulevard. 

An evacuation map is available at https://www.perimetermap.com/. Should evacuations be required, officials said text notifications will be sent to anyone in the area. Residents should have go-bags ready and be prepared to leave, they said. 

“[Wednesday’s] fire weather and fire behavior will be extremely dangerous,” Turner said. “This is a very, very dangerous situation. The fire behavior is going to be some of the worst that we see this year, and you’re right there in it. So pay attention to those announcements, hope for the best and plan for the worst.”

Turner’s models spurred a number of questions from those in the audience asking about specific neighborhoods that could be impacted by the fire. A number of maps were shared during the meeting and were planned to be shared online, but have yet to be posted. They can be seen in the recording of the meeting here.

Communications concerns

Residents at the community meeting, and earlier in the day at Washoe’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, expressed frustration with the lack of communication about the fire in the first several days. 

“The biggest problem I see is social media and using X. There’s a lot of disinformation going on right now,” a resident said at the evening meeting. 

Washoe Valley resident Cynthia Stipech spoke during public comment at the commission meeting. “We are here to talk about the appalling lack of communication and lack of information there was for the residents that were evacuated,” she said of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District’s initial handling of the fire. “Somehow there needs to be more communication to residents when they’re desperately trying to get information. A lot of us left animals at home, we had medical supplies and other things to get and there’s just no communication.” 

Celeste Prescott, the IMT’s communications lead, said the best source of information will come from the U.S. Forest Service Humboldt Toiyabe social media sites, followed by Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. Her comment came on the same day the Washington Post released an article reporting that Facebook was flagging and removing posts from some fire and disaster notification accounts suggesting the posts violate the “community standards on spam.”

Sheriff’s deputies, National Guard patrolling neighborhoods

Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said his officers were working 12-hour shifts to support safety efforts in the region, but urged residents to have patience. He noted that many deputies are working to direct traffic and block roads, which is a challenge with many people trying to get closer to the fire or get to their homes. 

“I know you’re frustrated. I know you’re scared. I know you have anxiety,” he said. “What we want to do is keep everybody out so that fire can do what they need to do to keep your neighborhood safe, keep our forest safe.”

Balaam also said that in response to resident concerns, support from the National Guard was brought in to patrol neighborhoods that have been evacuated to ensure homes are protected and safe from looters. 

“What I don’t need is people going out into the community and try to protect their neighborhood,” he said. “I know you’re worried about your homes. Trust me, I understand that.”

One resident said he was frustrated that it took so long for more support to arrive. More than two days after the fire broke out he said he and his neighbors were forced to post up guards in their St. James Village neighborhood to protect against looters. 

“We made a call to your department because looters were coming in,” he said. “When the National Guard showed up today—what are we, day four? You came in half way through today. Love it. It allowed a lot of us as community members to go to sleep. But it’s four days later. So I want to know from the Governor, who pushes the button to go to level one?”

Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District’s August Isernhagen, who was in command of the fire before the IMT took over, said he requested the National Guard support.

“The trigger for that, as we were discovering out and about, the law enforcement side and the [department of transportation] side could not keep up with the public,” he said. “We had public running around everywhere. They were finding holes and ways to get in. They were making their own, cutting fences and taking UTVs to access areas that we did not want them.

“Law enforcement and DOT were tapped up and they did not have enough resources to staff all those positions.”

Isernhagen stressed that the best way the community could support firefighters is to stay out of the area.

Balaam closed his comments by recommending that Washoe County School District close all K-12 schools except Gerlach K-12. 

“We don’t want to have to rush to those schools … we don’t want [our children] at schools where we have to rush and worry about getting hundreds of kids out and parents panicking,” Balaam said. “Please understand it’s for the safety of your kids and this community.”

Shortly after his comments, WCSD officials did cancel school for all but Gerlach K-12. The University of Nevada, Reno closed its Redfield campus.

This story is developing and may be updated.