Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019 | 3:32 p.m.
RENO — A volunteer firefighter injured while battling a wildland blaze has been released from a Nevada hospital as more than 700 people make progress on all three of the biggest wildfires burning in the state, officials said.
None of the fires grew overnight and one is now 75% contained, officials with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said Thursday.
Crews are mopping up heavy fuels and patrolling the flanks of the 10-square-mile (25-square-kilometer) Shafter Fire about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Wendover. It's expected to be fully contained by Sunday, bureau officials said.
More than 400 people have contained 20% of the Corta Fire that has burned 26 square miles (67 square kilometers) in the Ruby Mountains about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Elko. The agency estimates full containment is still a week away.
The Elko Daily Free Press reports two volunteer firefighters suffered unspecified injuries Sunday when flames burned over their vehicle during the initial response to that lightning-sparked fire.
The Elko County Fire Protection District says one was evaluated and immediately released back to duty. The other was taken to the University of Utah Trauma Center in Salt Lake City but has been released.
No other injuries have been reported and no structures damaged since lightning touched off more than a dozen fires in Nevada last weekend.
The 11-squre-mile (28-sq.-kilometer) Goose Fire is now 10% contained near the Idaho line about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Jackpot.
Bureau officials said Thursday more accurate GPS mapping lowered their earlier estimate it had burned 13 square miles (34 sq. kilometers). They said Wednesday some ranches in the area were potentially threatened, but conditions have improved.
