A diminishing smoke plume rises toward Kingsbury Grade on Thursday afternoon from a formerly controlled burn that caught the wind.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
East Fork firefighters responded to two fires within 12 hours of each other on Thursday.
A leaking gas line to a heating unit is believed to be the cause of an early Thursday morning fire that resulted in a Fish Springs family being displaced until repairs are made.
East Fork fighters responded at 5 a.m. to a home on Homestead Road near Jacobsen Way where residents reported hearing a bang before smoke came out of the crawl space prompting them to evacuate.
“The first units on scene found a fire in the crawlspace of the residence and East Fork Fire District firefighters aggressively fought to extinguish the fire allowing them to contain the fire with no extension to the living area of the residence,” Capt. Sky Dwinell said.
East Fork Fire District responded with four engines, two rescues, a training-safety captain, a battalion chief, a deputy chief, two tenders and a squad for a total of 23 personnel of which 13 were needed to extinguish and overhaul the fire. Carson City Fire Department and Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District engines to assist covering East Fork.
“The East Fork Fire District would like to remind you when you smell gas to shut off the gas if possible and call 911 immediately,” Dwinell said.
Firefighters also responded to a reported wildland fire on Taylor Creek Road below Kingsbury Grade around 3:20 p.m.
“The first unit on scene found a less than a tenth of an acre fire in sage and piñon with a threat to nearby structures,” Dwinell said. “First arriving units were able to quickly control and then contain the fire.”
Three engines, two rescues, a training safety captain, battalion chief and deputy chief responded along with a tender from Station 8.
Dwinell said 17 firefighters responded, with nine working the blaze.
“The cause of the fire was an unattended, unextinguished burn pile,” Dwinell said. “East Fork would like to remind everyone to follow all recreational and burn permit rules and regulations and to fully extinguish all fires.”
A stop order was issued by firefighters when they cleared around 5 p.m.
