A wake of vultures occupies fence posts below Genoa on Tuesday morning.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
Update: No new fire starts were reported during the 12 hours of Saturday’s red flag warning in the Sierra Front.
Tahoe Douglas firefighters responded to a 6:16 p.m. report of smoke along Sherwood Drive off Kingsbury Grade but were unable to lo-cate the source.
Fire.airnow.gov reports generally good air quality conditions across Western Nevada. The air sensor in Ranchos Aspen Park is reading a 42, approaching the moderate range, reflecting hazy conditions in Carson Valley on Sunday morning.
Wind gauges recorded 41 mph gusts in Sheridan at 1:20 p.m. and 5:53 p.m. in Fish Springs on Saturday. Minden-Tahoe Airport recorded a peak wind speed of 40 mph at 5:35 p.m. Saturday.
A red flag warning for gusty winds and critical fire weather remains in effect 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for central Nevada including Mineral and parts of Nye, Lander and Eureka counties.
National Weather Service forecasters in Reno said there’s an in-creased chance of fire danger through the middle of next week.
“There will be daily periods of elevated to critical fire weather conditions through around midweek as each afternoon will feature breezy winds and low daytime humidity,” forecasters said on Sunday morning. “While no particular day is more pronounced than another in terms of severity, Monday and Tuesday afternoon seemingly present the greatest fire concern in terms of longevity and spatial coverage. Areas facing the greatest threat on these days include eastern Lassen County and northern Washoe County where a 2-4 hour period of critical conditions are possible each afternoon. With the winds expected to pick up ahead of a potential cold front late Thursday, Western Nevada may see more widespread critical fire weather concerns during the afternoon hours.”
The largest actively burning fire in the Silver State, according to Ne-vadafireinfo.org is the 4,273-acre Broom Canyon Fire southwest of Ely in Nye County which was reported 6 p.m. Saturday. No progress on a line around the fire was reported as of Sunday morning.
Firefighters have a line halfway around the 670-square-mile Park Fire near Chico. According to Sunday’s National Interagency Coordination Center report, the fire has not grown in size since Wednesday. The Crozier Fire near Placerville is all but out with a line around 91 percent of its perimeter.
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A fire weather watch was upgraded to a red flag warning effective 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today. A lake wind advisory at Lake Tahoe for up to 3-foot waves was issued for the same time frame.
East Fork volunteer fire chiefs were asked to report possible staffing availability by 10:30 a.m., according to Douglas County Dispatch.
“Gusty winds are expected to return across the region,” National Weather Service Reno Meteorologist Hector Crespo said on Friday morning. Winds increase from the southwest and the south-southwest to 15-25 mph with gusts 25-35 mph.”
Crespo said odds are good that gusts exceeding 35 mph will occur along the Sierra Front. Lake Tahoe may experience waves of 1-2 feet.
In addition to gusty winds, humidity will drop below 15 percent across most of the Sierra Front, which will lead to critical fire conditions on Saturday afternoon.
The winds are forecast to slow down on Sunday, but conditions will remain breezy, Crespo said.
As of Friday morning, air quality in Carson Valley remains in the good range.
Fire.airnow.gov is showing fires in Northern California and Oregon are still generating smoke, but southwest winds have kept it from coming down to Western Nevada.
Firefighters reported having a line around the Gold Ranch fire near Verdi in Nevada. The Park Fire is at 47 percent containment after claiming 637 structures and 670 square miles. The Crozier Fire near Placerville is at 91 percent containment after being stopped at 1,938 acres.
