UNITED STATES: WILDFIRES WHIPPED UP BY GUSTY WINDS RAGE THROUGH AREAS IN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA

Record ID: 337879

  • Title: UNITED STATES: WILDFIRES WHIPPED UP BY GUSTY WINDS RAGE THROUGH AREAS IN NEVADA AND CALIFORNIA
  • Date: 2nd July 1999
  • Summary: RENO, NEVADA, UNITED STATES (JULY 2, 1999) (RTV(A) - NO ACCESS USA/CNN 1. VARIOUS FIRES SPREADING/ FIREMEN FIGHTING BLAZES/ BUSH OF FIRE/ FIREFIGHTER MAKING FIREBREAK / HELICOPTERS DUMPING WATER ON FIRE (21 SHOTS) 1.35 UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 2, 1999) (RTV(A) - NO ACCESS USA/CNN 2. VARIOUS AERIALS FLAMES/ HOUSES BURNING/ FIRES SPREADING/ FIRES (9 SHOTS) 2.57 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 17th July 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RENO, NEVADA, UNITED STATES
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA47PY8V9OSRICFGNZA22SSV70
  • Story Text: A wildfire whipped by gusty winds roared through
    tinder-dry brush and sagebrush in the US state of Nevada, near
    the city of Reno, destroying three homes, scorching animals
    and blackening 6,000 acres.Three other fires blazed nearby,
    one of which was caused by children playing with fireworks as
    their father watched.

    Meanwhile, houses, mobile homes and garages are among the
    23 structures that have gone up in flames in a California
    wildfire.Fire engines are now standing guard at the remaining
    homes, in the hope of saving them.Over a thousand acres have
    been scorched in Trinity County some 300 miles north of San
    Francisco.

    Two firefighters were hurt while battling the largest
    blaze in Reno, called the Mira Loma fire, which broke out
    around 1:30 p.m.near a quarry.One firefighter broke her
    wrist and another hurt his knee, said the Nevada Division of
    Forestry.

    Within minutes, a thick plume of smoke dominated the
    horizon as the west slopes of the Virginia Range
    erupted in flames.Two trailers and one house were destroyed.

    By late Friday, the Mira Loma fire had consumed as many as
    6,000 acres and remained unchecked.The fire burned on two
    fronts, and officials hoped the winds would keep it from
    invading the heavily treed Virginia City Highlands area.

    The Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators took command of the
    fire at 6 p.m., providing more resources to man the fire
    lines.Three-hundred firefighters combated the fire on the
    ground, and 200-300 more were on the way, fire officials said.

    Four air tankers and two helicopters provided an aerial
    assault.Another fire near the U.S.395 freeway broke out in
    late afternoon.

    That fire was caused by children playing with fireworks.

    The Mira Loma fire gobbled up about five acres before
    firefighters contained it.Though flames licked around homes,
    none were damaged.Two other fires, one in the Double Diamond
    area and one in Verdi west of Reno, gave firefighters a run
    for their money but were brought under control by sundown.The
    cause of those blazes was not immediately determined.

    Meanwhile...Houses, mobile homes and garages are among the
    23 structures that have gone up in flames in a California
    wildfire.

    Fire engines were last seen standing guard at the
    remaining homes, in the hope of saving them.Over a thousand
    acres have been scorched in Trinity County, some 300 miles
    north of San Francisco.Authorities say the fire started on
    private property and spread into a forest, igniting blackberry
    bushes, which a state forestry official describes as "very
    explosive."
    Authorities had no idea when it might be contained.

    Twenty-mile-an-hour winds were hampering efforts.
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