The July 16, 2024, R-C Morning Report

Genoa, Nev. — A small wildfire in Hidden Canyon is being doused by helicopter near where Highway 88 enters Hope Valley. No cause is being reported for the tenth-acre fire, but it could well have been a lightning strike.

A half dozen lightning strikes were reported by Fredericksburg resident Jeff Garvin on Monday with around .06 inches of rain. That spot might be the wettest in the Valley with .11 inches since Friday.

In the Sierra, a half inch of rain has fallen at Ebbetts Pass since Friday, with .4 inches falling in Markleeville over the same amount of time.

Fires burning from Northern California, Oregon and into Idaho are generating a lot of smoke, but it has only translated into haze here in Western Nevada with airnow.gov reporting most indicators are on the cusp between good and moderate air quality.

The Tahoe Fire & Fuels Team added a new interactive map at https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/6199fe41c5494e48904017ca0bcb0905 to show where they’re conducting thinning or prescribed burns. It might be helpful to inform folks who are wondering whether a smoke plume indicates work or wildfire.

There might be a few smokes appearing in the mountains as a result of the few lightning strikes we received. The forecast calls for sunny skies and a high near 92 degrees with the west wind 5-10 nph this afternoon, gusting to 20 mph.

Kurt Hildebrand is editor of The Record-Courier. Contact him at khildebrand@recordcourier.com or 775-782-5122.