400 firefighters battle blaze along I-80 near Reno

RENO, Nev. - More than 400 firefighters battled a 10,000-acre brush fire that came within one-half mile of Interstate 80 Saturday and sent a large column of smoke billowing in the sky east of town.

Meanwhile, fire crews were getting the upper hand on a wild fire that burned 32,000 acres in the northeast corner of the state and making progress against a 17,000-acre fire near Naval Air Station Fallon sparked by bomber training runs on Thursday.

Four firefighters suffered knee and ankle injuries late Friday and early Saturday while working the blaze in the steep canyons near Lockwood, about 8 miles east of Reno and within a half mile south of Interstate 80.

They were treated at local hospitals and released.

"It's mostly a hand-crew operation and they've been hiking in the dark in rough terrain," Forest Service spokeswoman Jocelyn Biro said Saturday.

The interstate remained open despite a billowing column of smoke that was clearly visible from downtown Reno.

"It's putting up a pretty good column," Biro said. "Everybody in town can see it."

Dozens of motorists stopped along the interstate Saturday afternoon to watch the flames and the helicopters dipping huge buckets on cables into the river to scoop up water to dump on the fire.

In addition to three Air National Guard helicopters, two air tankers were dumping retardant on the fire.

The fire had burned 10,000 acres of sagebrush and juniper pine, and was estimated to be about 35 percent contained late Saturday afternoon.

Officials earlier said it was 50 percent contained, but backed that estimate down to 35 percent when the fire picked up Saturday afternoon.

"The fire came over the ridge and is moving slowly towards the Truckee River" which runs along the south side of the interstate, she said.

"It's still burning pretty good. It's not just one flame front. We have pretty good activity in three or four areas," she said.

Firefighters were confident the river would keep the fire from jumping the highway, she said. They were more concerned about possible threats to the Gooseberry mine, which was in the line of the fire just south of Tracy, Nev. No buildings were immediately threatened.

The fire broke out about 2 p.m. Friday. It apparently was man-caused, but an investigation was continuing and no other details were immediately available, she said.

Elsewhere, about 325 firefighters were making gains on the Sand Springs fire, which has burned an estimated 17,000 acres about 30 miles southeast of Fallon. That fire was touched off Thursday by Navy bombers dropping ordnance on a training mission.

It was about 50 percent contained late Saturday afternoon.

"We are almost done. It should be under control (Sunday) or Monday," said Heidi Netzler, a spokeswoman for the federal interagency command post working the fire.

No structures were threatened but several $1 million Navy communications sites were in the area.

"They are doing some precautionary work at those just in case," she said.

At one point Friday night, authorities were prepared to evacuate the town of Middlegate. But Netzler said the wind shifted and the evacuation was not necessary.

The Navy said that fire started in the Bravo-17 training range from a live ordnance drop and burned up the west slope of Fairview Peak and over the ridgeline Thursday night.

Fires on the 21,000-acre bombing range are not uncommon and usually are left to burn because of concerns about unexploded ordnance, NAS Fallon spokeswoman Anne McMillin said.

But this one became a concern when it moved onto BLM land.

"We couldn't get in there right away because of all the live ordnance on the ground," said Bob Knutson of the Western Great Basin fire center in Reno.

BLM spokesman Bob Stewart said the agency doesn't send fire personnel within 1.5 miles of any Navy bombing range "so it had a good, running start."

Firefighters were gaining the upper hand Saturday on a fire that had burned 32,000 acres in the northeast corner of Nevada and into Utah.

"It appears they've got that one pretty much handled," said Bob Knutson of the Great Western Great Basin fire center in Reno.

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