Firefighters battle a wildfire south of Gardnerville, Nev., on Tuesday. The fast-moving blaze near the Nevada-California line destroyed homes and forced evacuationsBy Cathleen Allison, APWELLINGTON, Nev. (AP) – Fire crews in northern Nevada raced against Mother Nature, trying to secure a fire line Thursday above a second rural community before expected high winds moved in later in the day.
By Cathleen Allison, APA home is engulfed by flames from a wildfire south of Gardnerville, Nev., on Tuesday.
By Cathleen Allison, APA home is engulfed by flames from a wildfire south of Gardnerville, Nev., on Tuesday.
The Topaz Ranch Estates fire that broke out earlier in the week near the Nevada-California line had burned 7,500 acres and was 15 percent contained as of midday.A red flag warning for extreme fire danger was in effect through 11 p.m. because of high winds and low humidity.Two homes and 17 outbuildings were destroyed in the Topaz Ranch Estates community in southern Douglas County on Tuesday when a suspected illegal residential burn from two days earlier was re-ignited by stiff winds, and flames roared through cheat grass, pinion, juniper and sagebrush.The fire has since moved into the higher elevations of the Pine Nut Mountains near Wellington. A main concern for firefighters was keeping the blaze in the remote mountains and away from the Upper Colony residential area in neighboring Lyon County. Fire officials feared strong winds could push the flames down Rickey Canyon to the homes tucked along the east side of the mountain range."So far, so good," said Lyon County Manager Jeff Page around 2 p.m.If crews could hold the fire in check through the afternoon winds, they were hoping the weather would turn in their favor Friday and Saturday, when the forecast called for much cooler temperatures and a chance of rain and possible snow in the higher elevations.Officials believe an illegal residential burn over the weekend was re-ignited by gusty winds Tuesday, sparking the blaze.No deaths or injuries have been reported.Six helicopters worked to douse the fire from the air as 575 firefighters battled it on the ground. Four bulldozers were helping to build fire breaks and 14 engines were stationed around the area for structure protection.Meanwhile, in New Mexico, firefighters were being forced to sit on the sidelines Thursday as a massive wildfire that destroyed a dozen homes and several other structures in a small summer community in southwestern New Mexico grew larger and put more structures at risk.Tripling in size over the last day, the lightning-sparked Whitewater and Baldy fires merged to burn across more than 110 square miles of the Gila National Forest by Thursday.Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.