fire

Lyon County sheriff's investigators are investigating a car and truck fire in which a body was found inside the car.

Officers and fire department personnel were called to the Comfort Suites in Fernley shortly before midnight Tuesday for a vehicle fire at the hotel parking lot, said Lyon County Detective Lt. J.L. Pattison.

Responding units arriving on scene discovered a car and a truck both fully engulfed. Once the fire was extinguished a body was discovered in the car.

At this time Lyon County deputies, Lyon County detectives, and the state fire marshall are investigating.

The Bureau of Land Management offices in Carson City, the U.S. Forest Service Office in South Lake Tahoe and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest offices are all closed due to the federal government shutdown. Also the office for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid in Carson City was closed Tuesday.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has cancelled Forest-Service staffed events because of the lapse in federal government funding, today until funding is restored.

UPDATE 11:09PM: NV Energy reports that power has been restored to nearly all 2,249 customers affected in Monday night's power outage in south Carson City.

Service has been restored to nearly all customers but there's still around 40 customers without power around the Stafford Way and Hickory areas, said NV Energy spokesman Karl Walquist. Those 40 customers should be back on line by sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight, he said.

While a definitive cause has not been determined, Walquist said there was a fire in an underground vault which tripped a line out of the Curry Street station which is what caused the majority of the outage. NV Energy utility crews were able to isolate the areas and restore most of the service.

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Fire restrictions will be lifted Tuesday for national forest land in the Lake Tahoe Basin, the U.S. Forest Service announced.

“The arrival of cooler, wetter weather brings safer conditions and has allowed us to lift restrictions on Forest Service managed lands,” said Forest Service fire chief Kit Bailey. “Even though restrictions will be lifted, we still need hikers and campers to use caution with campfires, stoves, barbecue grills and cigarette smoking.”

In case you missed it, Carson City held a town hall meeting Sept. 16 that brought together city department managers to answer questions posed by Carson City residents.

Enjoy a wondrous evening under the stars with our friends from Great Basin National Park as they host the Star Train at Nevada Northern Railway, Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.

There will be a trivia contest on board with prizes for those with their thinking caps on. Passengers will be let off the train in order to gaze through telescopes at the night sky, guided by the Dark Rangers of Great Basin National Park. This is a great train ride that the whole family can enjoy.

UPDATE: 7:44PM: Two neighbors living adjacent to the apartment complex that was damaged in an apartment fire Friday night suffered minor injuries. Michael Robson, 26, said he was working on his car when he saw flames and jumped through a fence to help his neighbors as the house was burning.

Robson's brother-in-law, Cody Claussen, 18, also helped and suffered an electrical burn and a glass burn on his hands and arms, Robson said. Both men drove themselves to the emergency room for treatment.

Central Lyon County Fire District personnel responded to a brush fire that put out a lot of smoke and had at one time threatened the post office off of Highway 50 in Dayton before it was quickly extinguished.

The fire was reported at around 2:15 p.m. County Manager Jeff Page said the fire burned at least a quarter of an acre and firefighters were investigating the cause of it. As of 4 p.m. fire crews had nearly finished mopping up the area.

Prepare for a windy weekend cool down Carson City. A cold front will move through the region Saturday bringing gusty winds, significantly lower temperatures, possible rain showers and the potential for snow showers in higher elevations, according to the National Weather Service.

A Sun Valley woman faces a felony battery charge and a gross misdemeanor charge of child neglect following an incident Tuesday in which she allegedly spit on a firefighter and used her fingernails to scratch a Carson City deputy in the wrist causing injury.

Capri Johnson, 26, was jailed on the charges and has a bail of $32,500. According to the arrest report, officers were called at 4:41 p.m. to assist Carson City Fire Department personnel with a woman with two small children who was passed out intoxicated in the 1700 block of North Carson Street.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and streams in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of Sept. 18-24.

Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong will run for a fourth term as the capital city's top law enforcement officer, announcing his 2014 re-election intentions Tuesday.

In what Furlong described as three "politically quiet but challenging years," crime statistics have trended downward since the 2010 election, which is remarkable given Carson City's economic climate as it continues to deal with the effects of a deep, prolonged recession.

Carson City department heads responded to questions from locals Monday in a town hall meeting. While the public was given plenty of opportunity and notice to attend and encouraged to speak, three actually came to the podium, including two Carson High School students and the chair of the Carson Animal Services Initiative.

Weather changes are headed our way with breezy conditions today followed by a cool down over the weekend, the National Weather Service reports.

A gusty weather front moving through the region has prompted the weather service to issue a Red Flag Warning today for Carson City and much of Western Nevada and along the Eastern Sierra until about 8 p.m.

With dry air moving in prior to the front's arrival and gusts from 35 to 45 mph, fire weather conditions will become critical. Humidity is expected to be between 10 to 18 percent.

Perhaps it wasn't advertised enough. I mean, it was on radio, in the paper, on the web, and of course on the marquee, but you know, people just don't see any of those things.

Perhaps it was the time for holding it. I mean, 5:30 to 7:00 PM in this town is dinner time, right?

Either way, the Carson City town-hall meeting, held by 11 heads or assistant heads of city departments, attracted a total of THREE DOZEN people -- two thirds of them consisting of the mayor, two supervisors, and city employees. ONE dozen were "normal citizens." Abnormal, if you ask me, because they showed up.

The public is invited to a town hall meeting Monday night to discuss general issues related to Carson City. The meeting runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Bob Boldrick Theater at the Carson City Community Center, 851 East William Street.

There will be a panel of directors from the city's Finance, Fire, Health and Human Services, Human Resources, Information Technology, Parks and Recreation, Public Works and the Sheriff's Office. Additionally, the City Manager will also be in attendance and available to answer any questions.

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.

Carson City Fire Department and rescue personnel were called to a three-vehicle accident this afternoon at the intersection of Saliman and William streets.

The accident was reported at 12:09 p.m., in the westbound lane, tying up traffic along William Street. Minor injuries were reported. Carson City Sheriff's Office deputies are diverting traffic.

Carson City Fire Department, sheriff's patrol officers and the Nevada Highway Patrol were at the scene of an accident Friday night in the southbound lane of I-580 at 5th Street.
The crash was reported shortly before 7 p.m., according to NHP. Care Flight was not called and cleanup around the accident was underway as of 7:30 p.m., with traffic diverted.
It is unknown if anyone was hurt or the extent of injuries. According to police scanner dispatch, one person declined treatment.

Two accidents this afternoon at roughly the same time in Carson City were called into dispatch. One involves a crash between a bicycle and a vehicle and the other was a two-vehicle crash, according to Carson City dispatch.

The bicycle accident was reported at around 2:35 p.m. in the area of Telegraph and Winters. The injured person was said to be a juvenile with a headache and lacerations to her face. Carson City Fire Department rescue teams have responded.

In the vehicle accident on Musser and Mountain streets, it appears to be a non-injury accident.

Dear Outdoor Enthusiast, many of you are planning to be here next weekend, Sept. 14-15, for our NRA-Waterfowl Weekend.

If you haven’t put it on your calendar, you might want to add it based on what’s going on, highlighted below.
Lots of cool stuff for those interested in firearms safety and personal protection, waterfowl hunting seminars on a variety of topics, and several duck and goose calling contests plus kids’ activities and historical information.
Hope to see you here at Cabela’s next weekend.

I would like to extend a warm welcome to long-time friend Doug Busey of Douglas County, who is joining Carson Now. Doug will be serving as another outdoor writer at this website, specializing in bi-weekly fishing reports for our local area.

Doug's bi-weekly focus will be at locations such as: The East and West Carson Rivers in California, Blue Lakes, Caples Lake, Heenan Lake, Indian Creek Reservoir, Red Lake, Silver Lake, Topaz Lake and Lake Tahoe.

Last week, I wrote about our visit to the remote Ookpik Wilderness Lodge on Babine Lake in British Columbia.
This week, I would like to offer a suggestion for taking a 2014 vacation trip beginning in Smithers, British Columbia, traveling to Watson Lake in the Yukon and returning to Smithers.

It will basically replicate the trip we took, after our return to Smithers from staying at the Ookpik Wilderness Lodge. If you are interested and if you have the vacation time, you might want to consider a 2014 Canadian vacation trip.

Carson City will host a town hall-style meeting Monday, Sept. 16, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Bob Boldrick Theatre at the Community Center, 851 East William Street. The public is invited to this open meeting to discuss general issues related to Carson City.

Department directors from Finance, Fire, Health and Human Services, Information Technology, Parks and Recreation, Public Works, as well as the Deputy City Manager, City Manager and Sheriff will be on hand to answer questions.

Strong afternoon winds and low humidity have prompted a Red Flag Warning by the National Weather Service for much of Northern Nevada and the Sierra.

While the wind is helping push some of the Rim Fire smoke out of Carson City, Carson Valley and Lyon County, it has also created critical fire weather conditions because of the low humidity created, according to the weather service.

A chance for Carson City residents to see what it takes to keep the city safe from fire and the kind of heavy equipment used to maintain parks and roads, will be on display Thursday, Sept. 12.

The Carson City Equipment Open House begins at 5 p.m. at the Fire Training Facility at Station 52, 2400 East College Parkway.

The open house provides an opportunity for the city to demonstrate some of its equipment and functions. It is being hosted by the Carson City fire, parks and public works departments. Drinks and hot dogs will be served at this free event.

Investigators from the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigations and Tuolumne County District Attorney's Office have determined the Rim Fire began when a hunter allowed an illegal fire to escape.

There is no indication the hunter was involved with illegal marijuana cultivation on public lands and no marijuana cultivation sites were located near the origin of the fire. No arrests have been made at this time and the hunter's name is being withheld pending further investigation, according to a Forest Service news release.

Depending on wind speed and direction, Carson City air quality has fluctuating between moderate (tolerable) and hazardous (you can taste it) thanks to drifting smoke from the Rim Fire. You need to be quick if you’re going to get your mountain bike fix.

A smoky cloud has engulfed Northern Nevada over the past few weeks. The smoke, coming from the Rim Fire west of Yosemite National Park in California, has worsened the air quality index (AQI) for the Reno-Sparks area. AQI in the... Read More ›

November 5, 1945 - August 19, 2013 Tom moved to Carson City in 1961 from Gold Beach Oregon. His career was with Carson City Fire Department, from 1969 to 1998. He enjoyed cam...