State Route 341 reopened, Industrial fire 60 percent contained

The Industrial fire in Mound House "laid down nicely" with the cooler nighttime temperatures and reduced winds, said BLM spokesman Mark Struble.

Better visibility has also allowed firefighters to better map the fire, and they have determined that 429 acres burned in the fire that began at 3:34 p.m. Thursday.

Improved visibility also means State Route 341 has been opened and motorists are being allowed through with escorts.

The fire is expected to be fully contained by 6 p.m., Struble said. As of 10 a.m., it was 60 percent contained.

"Today will be about reinforcing lines, cleanup and getting ready for the next one," he said. "Weather forecast calls for thunderstorms with dry lightning this afternoon."

Officials say they think the fire will continue to lay down unless the winds pick back up.

"We're just resting and retooling our folks," Struble said. "It's just the start. It's not even June yet."

The 11 fires burning in the Peterson complex, north of Reno near Hallelujah Junction, burned about 30 acres with the largest fire being 15 acres.

"We caught all of those," Struble said. "One is burning in the timber in the Humboldt-Toiyable National Forest, there is a helicopter and hand crew on that. It's about one-eighth of an acre. We should get those buttoned up today, too."

A dozen East Fork Fire District firefighters and an administrator responded to the fire Wednesday.

Firefighters from stations in Gardnerville, Jacks Valley, Sheridan Acres and Minden were called out to support the battle against the 429-acre blaze located north of Highway 50 near the highway to Virginia City.

East Fork Fire & Paramedics Chief Tod Carlini said all the firefighters were safe back home in Carson Valley on Thursday morning.

He said Deputy Fire Chief Dave Drew also responded to the fire.

Carlini visited the fire scene on Wednesday night and said the topic of discussion among senior firefighters was how early fire season had arrived.

"I've seen it worse, but never this early," he said. "We had two red flags last week. Temperatures are in the 90s and humidity is around 0 percent. We were all talking about it. We always say it is going to be bad, but all the buzz is about how early fires are starting and how we never really had an end to last year's fire season."

This is the second week a statewide mutual assistance agreement has been in place, Carlini said.