Delaware fire 50 percent contained

Mound House and Silver City residents were told Friday they probably wouldn't have to evacuate as firefighters made significant progress against the Delaware fire, which had burned about 220 acres in American Flat.

Scott Huntley, public information officer for the Sierra Front, said the fire was 50 percent contained by 6 p.m. Friday and it was possible crews would have the fire, which started Thursday, completely contained by this afternoon.

"Things really worked well today even though the wind was blowing really hard," he said Friday evening. "We managed to back the fire onto itself and crews worked really hard.

"Residents of Mound House and Silver City can breathe easy," he said.

Residents of the two cities had been told to prepare to evacuate and were asked to create a defensible space between structures and grass and brush, remove all flammable materials away from buildings and clear vegetation from fences and buildings as soon as possible on Friday.

Fifty homes and outbuildings were within two to three miles southeast of the fire. Numerous cell phone/TV/radio microwave towers are positioned along the top of McCelland Peak, immediately west of the fire.

In the event of an evacuation, Pat Wiggins of Carson City Animal Services said evacuated pets could be brought to the Carson City Animal Shelter at no charge to the owner.

Agencies on scene include Storey County Fire, Nevada Division of Forestry, U.S. Forest Service, California Division of Forestry, Lyon County Fire, Mason Valley Fire, Reno Fire, Carson City Fire and Sparks Fire.

Goni Road at the north end of Carson City is still closed to all vehicles. The closure affects only access to public lands. Neighborhood streets at the base are open.

All roads across public lands west of Silver City and American Flat are also still closed to all but fire personnel.

According to the Minden Interagency Dispatch Center, the Airport fire in Alpine County, Calif., and the Alpine Ranch fire in Churchill County were both 10 acres and were both contained at 10 p.m. Thursday.

A single tree fire in Clear Creek was also controlled by Friday evening. The tree was struck by lightning during Thursday's storm and caught fire Friday.