By Siddharth Cavale and Suzanne McGee
NEW YORK, Aug 23 (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated this weekend from the area of Reno, Nevada, and many others were under orders to leave on Sunday as a wildfire reached the outskirts of the state’s third-most-populous city.
About 42,000 residents have been displaced or are in active evacuations with an additional 45,000 in “be prepared to evacuate” status as the Hawk Fire threatened northern Reno, local officials said late Sunday morning.
Local TV footage showed flames approaching roads. In eyewitness video verified by Reuters, smoke from the hills billowed over nearby residential neighborhoods.
Fire-tracking websites showed evacuation zones extending from the Sierra Nevada hills to the University of Nevada in northwest Reno.
The fire has burned 13,000 acres (5,261 hectares) so far, officials said at a press conference on Sunday. The fire was human-caused and remains under investigation, they said.
Three civilians and three first responders have been injured, said Shane Akerson, a commander leading fire and rescue operations.
Officials first received reports of a fire off Hawk Meadow Trail at about 11:15 a.m. PDT (1815 GMT) on Saturday, said Richard Edwards, chief of Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. Firefighters on Saturday worked amid “extreme red flag conditions,” he said.
Red flag conditions are a combination of warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds that raise the risk of wildfires.
“We expect those same strong conditions to come back this afternoon,” Edwards said on Sunday.
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency late Saturday in Washoe County, which includes Reno and parts of Lake Tahoe.
“This is an active and rapidly evolving situation, and I urge everyone in the affected areas to remain vigilant and follow the direction of local officials,” Lombardo said in a statement.
Lombardo authorized the deployment of two National Guard helicopters to help fight fires and 60 National Guard personnel to support operations with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
The Reno-Tahoe International Airport remained outside the evacuation area, and commercial flights were operating normally on Sunday.
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in New York and Suzanne McGee in Providece, Rhode Island; Editing by Sergio Non and Mark Porter)
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