A fast moving wildfire is threatening the area around Reno, Nevada, where authorities have urged at least 90,000 people to leave their homes as the flames spread out of control. Known as the Hawk Fire, the blaze has become a full blown emergency in the American West, with residents describing a frantic rush to escape and officials warning that the danger is far from over.
Investigators believe the fire may not have been an accident. Officials said the Hawk Fire may have been set intentionally, and an investigation is now under way to determine how it started. In the meantime, the fire has already left a trail of destruction, with several homes and businesses reported destroyed as the flames pushed through neighbourhoods on the edge of the city.
The human toll is already mounting. At least six people have been injured in the fire, including three first responders who were working to hold back the flames. The blaze exploded in size overnight, growing to more than 15,000 acres, a rapid expansion that has made it especially difficult for crews to gain the upper hand as conditions continue to shift.
For those in the fire's path, the escape has been harrowing. Jason Davis described flames sweeping over his head as he realized he had to get out immediately, saying it felt like an end of the world scene, with every animal trying to run and make it out, and not everything managing to. His account captured the chaos as the fire raced across the landscape faster than many expected.
Among the tens of thousands forced from their homes was Nicole Lucero, who is now staying in a hotel with four of her children after they fled. She recalled seeing big pieces of ash falling on the windshield, then looking across the highway to see the flames coming right at them, a moment that underscored how quickly the fire closed in on residential areas.
Firefighters have been battling the flames in punishing conditions, working in temperatures near 90 degrees as they tried to get a handle on the fire. Police across northwestern Reno have set up roadblocks to keep people away from the danger zone, while plumes of smoke rose from the mountains overlooking the city, a visible sign of how far the fire had grown.
The Hawk Fire is burning against the backdrop of a relentless heat wave gripping much of the country. According to WABC meteorologist Jeff Smith, more than 90 million people are under heat alerts, with extreme heat warnings stretching from southern California and southern Arizona all the way to Dallas, Texas, and heat indices reaching as high as 115 degrees in some areas. That hot, dry weather, he said, is only making the firefighting effort harder, even as Hawaii braces for a separate tropical storm named Moke.