Officials say a wind-whipped wildfire in Reno has destroyed 20 homes, injured several people and forced evacuations.Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez tells the Reno Gazette-Journal (http://on.rgj.c...

Update 11:53 a.m.: Congressmen Mark Amodei (NV-2) and Joe Heck (NV-3) released the following joint statement regarding the Caughlin Ranch fire:
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this disaster. We are in contact with the Governor’s office and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington, D.C. to offer guidance and assistance in providing resources to address the emergency. We are coordinating efforts to ensure the Prepositioned Equipment Program (PEP) located in Las Vegas is prepared to deploy and assist with controlling the fire if needed. Anyone wishing to make financial contributions to help the victims of this disaster may do so through the Red Cross."

Update 10 a.m: The State of Nevada, Washoe County and the City of Reno have declared a state of emergency. More than 9,500 people have been evacuated, according to City of Reno spokesman Chris Good. The 400-plus-acre fire is still zero percent contained. As of now, Galena High School is the evacuation point. If that fills up, Damonte Ranch High School will be the next evacuation point. Go here for the latest from UNR's Nevada Sagebrush and here from MyNews4.com.

Update 8:15: Fire now officially named Caughlin Fire.

Update 7:11 a.m.: KRNV is on the air talking with Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez who is saying they have lost about 20 homes so far, and the strong winds are a big problem. He also said the winds are so strong that there is no way to get air attacks on this fire.

An Emergency 211 number is being set up to provide better information for Reno residents.

A wind-driven wildfire has burned more than 400 acres and has consumed at least six homes in the Caughlin Ranch area in southwest Reno this morning. The Pine Haven fire broke out around 12:30 this morning and thousands have been told to evacuate. Residents are being evacuated to Reno High School, the designated area for evacuations. Fire agencies from the Carson City and Carson Valley areas are responding as are from the Lake Tahoe area. Power is out to at least 1,000 homes in the area, according to NV Energy.
Flames are threatening homes near Manzanita Lane and Dant Boulevard, and police officers were going to residences to evacuate residents. An officer went to the house of a panicking Kathy Harrah. The officer told her to take a deep breath and said "you are fairly safe," as she and her two sons, John and Kody, grabbed items and put them into their truck. "I have been watching the fire all night. I didn't know it was going to get this bad," she told the Reno Gazette-Journal before ordering her son to rip a computer out of a wall. The area was thick with smoke that hung over over Manzanita. Flames in the canyon below Manzanita shot up dozens of feet in the air as they hit brush. Go here and here for story.

Videos of the fire

Map of fire area

The Office of the Nevada Attorney General announced today that Tracy Lawrence, 43, a local notary, has pled guilty to one count of notarizing the signature of an individual not in her presence, a gross misdemeanor in violation of NRS 240.155.

Notary fraud carries a potential jail sentence of one year and/or a fine of up to $2,000.

A portion of the Carson City Historic District, designated the “West Side District,” was recently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The area was selected for inclusion in the National Register in recognition of its importance to the history of Carson City and the state of Nevada. The Carson City Historic District has been established in Carson City since 1982.

The Carson City School Board will meet at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Sierra Room of the Carson City Community Center, 851 E. Williams St.

Several items will be on the agenda, including reports from the superintendent, a presentation regarding the American Citizen Essay Contest, a proclamation regarding National Parental Involvement Day, and a presentation of the district's new website.

Several issues about individual students and situations, including permission regarding home-schooled and charter school students to participate in athletics, will also be discussed.

For Immediate Release
contact: christynevada@pajamaprogram.org
“DANGER SEASON” IS HERE IN Northern Nevada
AS TEMPERATURES DROP PAJAMA PROGRAM PROVIDES
NEW PAJAMAS AND NEW BOOKS TO CHILDREN IN NEED
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Pajama Program Celebrates 10th Year

Catch the live video here. The agenda is here.

Not much Carson City news trapped behind the paywall today. There's this story about the 14th annual Turkey Roundup at Mike's Pharmacy, which collected nearly 800 turkeys to help local families. And there is a scouting report on the Carson-Maogue playoff game tomorrow night that predicts the Senators will win again.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A scientist who was the star defense witness in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor was sanctioned Wednesday by the trial judge and fined $250 for violating a court order durin...

RENO (AP) - A third motorcycle gang member has been indicted on murder charges in the September shootout at a Nevada casino that killed the president of the Hells Angels' San Jose, Calif., chapter....

Authorities are still on the lookout for a mountain lion that chased after a jogger yesterday on Kings Canyon Road. Residents are warned to keep an eye out for the big cat, and to keep close tabs on children and pets. KOLO8 has this video report:

Update: The Nevada Appeal has a story quoting Chris Healy from Nevada Department of Wildlife that they have been looking but have not seen the big cat since the jogger reported it on Monday.

The folks over at Virginia and Truckee Railroad (the V&T) and the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau are giving away a pair of tickets for the Polar Express train that will run on Saturday, Nov 26, at 8:30 p.m. If you're on Facebook, hit the "like" button and write what you would name Santa's 10th reindeer. A winner will be picked on Thursday, Nov. 17 at noon.

At Western Nevada College, serving Carson City and six rural counties, the number of students is down nearly 25 percent at 4,277, the biggest percentage drop of any of the state's seven universities or colleges. Of these, 2,365 are full-time students, a 19.5 percent drop from a year ago.

Detectives of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office are continuing their investigation into an apparent homicide which occurred at 4100 Gray Hills Rd, in the Topaz Ranch Estates residential area of south Douglas County.

On Tuesday, November 15th, 2011, deputies were called to the residence after a decedent was discovered inside the residence. Investigation has revealed the decedent, identified as 59 year-old Norman Welch, to be the victim of death by gunshot. It appears the death occurred sometime within the last two weeks.

Carson City Sheriff's deputies arrested Robert Dodds, 18, an unemployed Carson City man, at around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Officers spotted Dodds walking near the corner of Rice and Carson streets, allegedly picking items up off the ground. Upon conducting a weapons search an officer found what appeared to be a small jar of methamphetamines, and when questioned, Dodds admitted to also being in possession of a glass pipe.

Dodds was arrested on felony possession of methamphetamines and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail is set at $3,500.

The charred body of a convicted sex offender who was recently questioned about the fondling of a 6-year-old Carson City girl was found in a burning boat Friday night by Washoe Lake.

James Floyd Raines, 70, was questioned last week about fondling the girl at his Bel Aire Way home. He was a Tier 1 sex offender, having been convicted in 1989 of lewdness with a child in Henderson and served four years in prison. He allegedly told detectives last week that he was not going back to prison.

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The Nevada Tax Commission is scheduled to vote on a measure on Dec. 12 that would limit some of the tax deductions that mining companies take. During the last legislative session, lawmakers learned the mining companies were taking deductions for activities not related to mining in Nevada, such as executive pay. The Nevada Mining Association says the changing in deductions could cost mining companies and extra $48 million a year.

Nevada mining operations are taxed on net proceeds, which allows them to deduct expenses, whereas most other states tax gross income. A controversy erupted earlier this year when it was revealed that the state didn't have any qualified auditors to oversee what the mining companies were claiming for expenses.

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Silver State Charter School's plan to move into their new location on Mallory Way has been delayed until early next year. The school's principal Alan Staggs is frustrated with some of the "loopholes" because the building has to be retrofitted to bring it up to a higher standard because it will be used as a school and not an office. The Nevada Insurance Division vacated the building last year when workers were sickened by a chemical used to clean bird droppings. The Staggs said that problem has been fixed.

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Gov. Brian Sandoval led the celebration of a new Native American cultural exhibit at Reno-Tahoe Airport on Monday. The governor said he got the idea for the exhibit from visiting other airports where there were similar displays. The event coincides with his signing of a proclamation declaring November as Native American Heritage Month. See the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5prbco90554

Here is this week's fishing report, through Nov. 23, for Nevada, the Sierra, Northern California and Southern Oregon:

Here are the most recent fish plants by the Nevada Division of Wildlife:

The California Department of Fish and Game will close the commercial fishery for market squid, Loligo (Doryteuthis) opalescens, on Friday, Nov. 18 at noon.
Based on landings information and projections,DFG has determined that the season’s harvest limit of 118,000 short tons of market squid will be reached by that date.
The squid fishing season runs from April through the following March of each year, meaning the fishery will remain closed through March 31, 2012.

The California Department of Fish and Game reminds veterans that service-related injuries need not keep them from enjoying wildlife and the great outdoors.
America’s disabled veterans get a break on the price of sport fishing and hunting licenses and are provided some special opportunities.
DFG offers reduced-fee hunting and fishing licenses to both resident and nonresident disabled veterans.
Any honorably discharged, disabled veteran with a 50 percent or greater service-connected disability who wants to hunt birds or mammals, or fish in California is eligible.

Press Release 11/15/2011

Book Title: WESTWARD WOMAN: My Two Thousand Mile Trek of Raw Discovery along the DONNER TRAIL (ISBN-13: 978-1463738822, ISBN-10: 146373882X)
Author: Barbara Maat
Available on www.amazon.com

For more details:
Pictures and an early draft are on www.DonnerTrail.Homestead.com

See what it looks like to go 462 miles per hour on the Bonneville Salt Flats:

Carson City Health and Human Services is collecting food donations for its annual Homeless Christmas. From November 15 through December 9, donate 2 cans of food and receive a voucher for a free flu shot or nasal spray vaccine, redeemable during our regularly scheduled immunization hours on Thursdays.

Douglas County Sheriff's deputies have located the vehicle belonging to a Gardnerville woman missing since Friday, and believe she was killed when it rolled down an embankment near the East Fork of the Carson River.

Loraine Bosch of Gardnerville was last reported to be heading to the FISH Thrift store in Carson City in her 1986 green Ford truck on Friday. That vehicle was located Monday night, heavily damaged with a body trapped inside.