Bison Fire

UPDATE 3:51PM: Progress was made cleaning up the massive debris flows caused by a mudslide Monday across Highway 395. With help from the Nevada Department of Transportation Highway 395 is now open. The Douglas County Road Department, Town of Minden and the Town of Gardnerville made progress on Topaz Park Road and it remains open.

UPDATE TUESDAY 4:53PM: The acreage of the Preacher Fire was adjusted Tuesday afternoon when a glitch was identified as the mapping was finalized. The correct acreage as of 3:50p.m. stands at 4,651 acres.
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UPDATE TUESDAY 12:42PM: The Preacher Fire has burned 7,651 acres, according to the Incident Management Team that flew over the fire Tuesday morning to assess the situation.
Douglas County Sheriff Office and Nevada Highway Patrol are working with Nevada Department of Transportation to update the reader boards along Highway 395 from China Springs to Minden warning drivers of low visibility due to smoke.

UPDATE 5:15PM Flash Flood warning lifted for northeast Douglas County; Flash Flood Warning for South Central Lyon County until 7:45PM.
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The National Weather Service in Reno has issued a Flash Flood Warning until 7 p.m. for Central Lyon County and Northeastern Douglas County.

The University of Nevada, Reno’s newest mountaintop camera at Lake Tahoe has just been installed, and has been tracking the smoke from the King Fire in El Dorado County, Calif., which has been inundating the Lake Tahoe Basin, Carson City and Reno areas with smoke in the afternoons.

New high definition fire cameras are scanning the mountains and shoreline, while University of Nevada, Reno researchers are discovering new animal species at the bottom of Lake Tahoe and working with colleagues at the Desert Research Institute to document the dramatic decline of other bottom dwelling species and nearshore water quality.

Douglas County Commissioners and Douglas County Emergency Management’s decision not to file a disaster declaration has come under question, been criticized, and created opportunities for much public comment and debate. The recent flash flood event in north eastern portion of the Johnson Lane, Central Johnson Lane, and Fish Springs areas of the county was a significant event that many would think would warrant a disaster declaration.

A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect through Friday evening for Carson City, Lyon, Storey, Douglas and southern Washoe counties, according to the National Weather Service.

Slow moving thunderstorms such as those that moved through the area Tuesday and Wednesday, are capable of producing heavy rainfall in a short amount of time.

With the summer's Bison Fire still in the public's eye, a 10 to 15-year plan for the Pine Nut Mountains is up for public comment, which has been extended through Nov. 29, the Bureau of Land Management Carson City District announced.

The BLM and Sierra Front Field Office crafted the Pine Nut Land Health Project Draft Environmental Assessment for public review. The project area is located in the Pine Nut Mountains in Douglas, Lyon and Carson City counties and is designed address future management and vegetation treatment on up to 24,654 acres.

The Lyon County Road Division has closed Artesia Road in Smith Valley due to a mud flow from the rain storm over the Bison Fire scar. The mud flow is more than 200 to 300 feet long and may be up to 3 feet deep, according to Lyon County Manager Jeff Page.

The Road Division will be transporting a dozer and other equipment to begin clean up Monday.

Funding constraints will allow only about a third of the land burned by western Nevada’s largest-ever wildfire to be re-seeded in an effort to restore a damaged landscape.

With 80 percent containment, the mop-up and line rehab process has begun on the Bison Fire burning east of Gardnerville, fire officials report Friday morning. As the containment percent rises firefighters and equipment will be released from the Bison Fire and made available for other fires.

With our current long daylight hours, extremely hot weather, fierce afternoon thunder boomers, high winds, low humidity, and bone-dry vegetation, you need to be aware of the ever-increasing fire danger surrounding us.

Our countryside is a disaster waiting to happen, and it would only take a moment of carelessness, sparks from target shooting, illegal fireworks, a hot vehicle muffler on a dirt road, an abandoned campfire or a tossed cigarette to create a roaring inferno.

Fire officials report progress on the Bison Fire overnight, with plans Thursday to do continued work on hot spots and to begin the rehabbing process.

Voluntary evacuations for 78 homes were lifted Wednesday at around 6:30 p.m. The fire is 65 percent contained as of Thursday morning with the size of it being reduced to 24,136 acres at this time, said Lisa Ross, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management.

Below is the Thursday morning press briefing from the BLM:

With the Bison Fire reaching 65 percent containment by Wednesday afternoon, fire officials have notified the Lyon County Office of Emergency Management that it can lift the evacuation in Smith Valley.

The Incident Command Post has confirmed with Lyon County officials that it is safe for evacuees to return, said County Manager Jeff Page.

Firefighters worked the fire along a ridge above the evacuated homes early Wednesday. The weather forecast calls for evening thunderstorms and dry lightning, said BLM spokeswoman Dorothy Harvey.

Voluntary evacuations of a Smith Valley subdivision are underway as firefighters held flames along a ridge above to stop them from spreading into homes, the Bureau of Land Management reports this morning. Firefighters overnight were able to reinforce the line, with the day shift continuing its efforts today.

More than 1,060 firefighters continued efforts Tuesday battling the Bison Fire in the Pine Nut Mountains east of Gardnerville, which has prompted a voluntary evacuation of the Pipeline Canyon area in Lyon County. As of early Tuesday evening, the fire has burned 25,733 acres and is 25 percent contained.

Picture overlooking Upper Cathedral Lake in Yosemite with smoke over the mountains. Couldn't tell where the smoke was coming from. A web cam at Bald Mountain, http://ssgic.cr.usgs.gov/cgi-bin/camHist11.pl?camera=bald_helibase_1&vis... smoke over the Dardanelles at the same time. Triangulating these two data points puts the origin in Douglas County Nevada. 

The photos were taken around noon Monday.

The Bison Fire burning in Douglas County grew to 25,733 acres by early Tuesday morning, with 25 percent containment and Douglas County declaring a state of emergency to allow for more resources. More than 700 personnel are assigned to the fire.

Overnight the fire burned actively from the north side until about 3 a.m. the on the northeast and southeast sides. The night crews were able to make significant progress, said Lisa Ross, spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management.

Great Basin Management Type 2 Team, operating under Incident Commander Mike Whalen, reports fire fighters made progress today even though the fire increased in size to 21,337 acres, with almost all of the acreage increase on the north side of the incident. The fire is now 25-percent contained with a revised full containment target date of July 15.

Yerington, Nev. – The Bison Fire is producing a great deal of smoke and ash in the area of Mason Valley, Yerington and Smith Valley. This is due to the sustained winds and will continue until the winds die down.

People with respiratory problems are urged to stay indoors until the smoke and ash clear. If you are experiencing respiratory distress you are urged to seek medical help. If you know of someone that has respiratory problems you are urged to check on them until the smoke and ash clear.

The University of Nevada, Reno’s Nevada Seismological Laboratory has produced stunning time-lapse, high-definition video of the Bison Fire since its inception Friday, July 5.

“This imagery represents an evolution for the lab as it incorporates multi-hazards and climate monitoring using its high-speed microwave IP-based network,” Graham Kent, director of the Seismological Lab said. “These videos are the opening salvo of a demonstration project that will encompass the Tahoe basin and nearby areas such as Reno and Carson City.”

The Bison Fire in Douglas County has grown to 17,000-plus acres, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch at its 2:18 p.m. Monday press briefing. The fire is 15 percent contained.

Several road closures are now effective immediately. They are: Pine Nut Road at Out-R-Way, East Valley Road at Grandview; Brunswick Canyon Road, Mexican Dam Road and Sunrise Pass Road at Artesia Road, according to Sierra Front. These roads will be open to residents only with proof of residency.

Carson Now reader Joe Hicks submitted this photos of the Bison fire shot from Sunrise Pass Road Sunday afternoon/evening (July 7).

Containment of the Bison Fire burning in Douglas County is expected by July 14 as firefighters had a series of setbacks because of windy conditions, the Bureau of Land Management reports in its Monday morning briefing.

The fire has been downgraded to 15 percent contained with the wind event that occurred Sunday afternoon, according to the Great Basin Management Type II Team, operating under Incident Commander Mike Whalen

Sena Loyd was returning to Carson City Sunday from a holiday trip to Disneyland when she began to take photos of the Bison Fire along Highway 395.

She and Joseph Spencer first saw the smoke 57 miles north of Bishop. As they continued north the smoke became heavier, denser.

"We did not expect to see the fire when we were outside Bishop, when we did we were a bit worried," she said.

Late afternoon winds hampered firefighting efforts against the Bison wildfire in Douglas County, resulting in the loss of an unknown number of commercial structures, officials reported Sunday evening.

The types of buildings involved were not known along with whether the buildings were in active use. No injuries were reported.

UPDATE 6PM: With one agency saying one thing, and another reporting something else, there's bound to be confusion and mistakes. Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center now reports the Bison Fire listed as burning 9,300 acres as stated in its 5:40 p.m. media briefing here.

Despite gusty winds and low humidity, firefighters made significant progress Saturday on the Bison Fire burning in the Pine Nut Mountain Range in Douglas County, reaching 30 percent containment with full containment expected Monday.

Changes in wind direction have made for extreme fire behavior Saturday morning for firefighters battling the Bison Fire. About 20 homes are threatened again. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office and East Fork Fire have implemented evacuation operations and structure protection.