18 active fires in Nevada

There are currently 18 active wildfires in Nevada including the Tohakum 2 Fire northeast of Pyramid Lake that closed State Route 447 for a time earlier this week. That road is the access to the Burning Man festival on the Black Rock Desert.

As of midday Friday, that blaze had consumed 52,704 acres of primarily short grass and brush. It was lightning started in the evening of Aug. 29 and was still listed as 0 percent contained.

Altogether, a total of 132,106 acres had been consumed by those 18 fires as of midday Friday.

That total doesn’t include the Slinkard Fire near Lake Topaz, which started Tuesday in California just south and west of the Douglas County, Nevada line. It had consumed more than 7,200 acres with 0 percent containment as of Friday midday. The fire forced the evacuation of Topaz and closure of Highway 89 as well as Highway 395 through the area.

Slinkard is one of 37 fires active in California and is burning in cheat grass, sage and pinyon-juniper.

In addition, crews are battling the Tungsten Fire 60 miles northeast of Fallon. That fire has consumed more than 5,000 acres of brush, hardwood slash and grass. Like the others, it too was lightning caused but was listed as 50 percent contained.

The Needles Fire 15 miles northeast of Sparks was reported contained and controlled as of 7 p.m. Thursday evening. But not before it burned through 994 acres of brush. That blaze too was lightning caused and crews were still worried isolated thunderstorms through the weekend might cause more problems in the area.

Of the 18 active fires in Nevada, 10 are in the Winnemucca District Office territory for more than half the total acreage burned: 67,068 acres as of Friday.