Info center set up for Sleeping Elephant fire

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office has set up a command post where residents can call to find out if roads are open and whether they can return to their homes in the wake of the 650-acre Sleeping Elephant fire.

For the evacuation center at Smith Valley High School, call 465-2332.

Sheriff Ron Pierini emphasized that there is only one information line, so callers should be patient.

The fire broke out at 2 p.m. Friday after a lightning strike a mile south of Highway 208 northwest of Topaz Lake.

Pierini said authorities expected to reopen the highway before dark which had been closed to all but emergency personnel. He asked motorists to call before driving out to the fire.

At the height of the fire, 150 firefighters responded from East Fork FIre Protection District, Mason Valley Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management were on the scene.

Pierini said a half dozen people were taken to a evacuation center set up at Smith Valley High School.

Several elderly people were evacuated from their homes as Douglas County and Lyon County deputies and Search and Rescue volunteers went door-to-door.

"It was really a cooperative effort," Pierini said.

He said firefighters would remain on scene all night.