/UPDATE: 8/23/26 3:30 p.m. – The Hawk Fire has now burned 15,039.9 acres. 90,000 Washoe County residents are either in an evacuation warning zone, with 42,000 people evacuated. There will be no school in Washoe County on Monday except in Gerlach, and the University of Nevada, Reno will start classes Monday as scheduled.
Fire officials said the fire is human-caused, but they do not know if it was intentionally set at this time. There were no thunderstorms in the area on Saturday morning when the fire started.
There are 1,000 firefighting personnel assigned to the fire.
Several helicopters and firefighting airplanes are over the fire this afternoon.
RENO, Nev. – The Hawk Fire broke out Saturday, quickly exploding to 8,020 acres with no containment. It is burning just south of the 93,000-acre Bug Fire. Evacuation zones are changing quickly, so those in the area need to follow instructions from Washoe County.
The fire is burning near Somersett and Verdi, north of Lake Tahoe and northwest of Reno.
The U.S. Forest Service is in unified command with Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue.
South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue and Lake Valley Fire Protection District each sent two strike teams and vehicles to the fire as part of the Lake Tahoe Regional Fire Chiefs Agreement.
A Red Flag Warning is in place for the region until 11 p.m. Saturday.
For the most current evacuation zones, road closures and incident updates, please monitor the Perimeter Map: https://perimetermap.com/data/142-162943-polygon. Fire updates are available from Watch Duty at https://app.watchduty.org/i/116444.
University of Nevada, Reno Extension’s Living With Fire Program reminds those who may be affected to consult its online evacuation resources, including the Wildfire Evacuation Checklist, to get prepared now. The Checklist is also available in Spanish.
Residents should follow the instructions of firefighters and emergency responders and to evacuate immediately when asked to do so.
