Rain in forecast may aid firefighters

RENO, Nev. - Firefighters hoped to fully contain a wildland blaze north of Reno by nightfall and have it totally snuffed out by 6 a.m. Friday.

The Red Rock fire was still 80 percent contained early today. Calm winds helped firefighters make huge gains Wednesday in their effort to get a line around the blaze that has blackened about 6,500 acres of sagebrush and juniper.

Weary firefighters may get some help from Mother Nature. A low-pressure weather disturbance is heading toward the region, bringing with it a chance of rain.

The National Weather Service said the Reno area could see showers and or thunderstorms by later this afternoon, with locally heavy rain possible.

The fire sparked by vehicle fire broke out Tuesday afternoon in the Red Rock area and quickly spread through tinder-dry brush.

Flames crested a ridgeline and at one point threatened about 60 ranch homes in Antelope Valley, though no homes were lost. Residents evacuated Tuesday night were allowed back to their homes by midday Wednesday.

"We didn't exactly know what to expect," said Jan Anderson, who returned to her home on Wednesday to find it intact but covered in red slurry fire retardant dropped from air tankers.

"We saw the house on TV so we knew that was fine. But I thought our camper was a goner." The Anderson's RV survived, as did their sailboat.

Fire officials said in all, two outbuildings, to vehicles and two travel trailers were damaged by the fire.

Smoke from the fire and others burning around the West cloaked the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and made the downtown Reno skyline invisible from just a few miles away.

Meanwhile, the fire left in question the future of Animal Ark, a 40-acre sanctuary for exotic animals that lack the skills needed to survive on their own in the wild.

Flames raced through the compound Tuesday night. Some animals, including two tigers, suffered singed whiskers, but all were otherwise unharmed.

Still, operators said the fire destroyed the junipers that provide the animals with needed shade in summer and shelter from drifting snow in the winter.

"Maybe this is God closing the door," said Diana Hiibel, who founded the sanctuary with her husband in 1982.

"We've lost the beauty of the area for the exhibits. We have to really sit down and look at the future."

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