As of Sunday evening, a fast-moving wildfire northwest of Reno, Nevada, had burned roughly 15,000 acres — about 23 square miles — and remained at 0% containment. It grew from about 2,500 acres to more than 10,000 and then past 15,000 over the weekend. The Hawk Fire started around 11:25 a.m. on Saturday, August 22, 2026, near the Somersett Golf and Country Club, off Hawk Meadow Trail about a mile north of Cold Creek Trail — an area in the Peavine Mountain foothills roughly five miles northwest of downtown Reno, near the community of Verdi.
Key facts
- Size: roughly 15,000 acres (about 23 square miles) burned; 0% contained as of Sunday evening
- Started: about 11:25 a.m. Saturday, August 22, 2026, near the Somersett Golf and Country Club, Peavine Mountain foothills near Verdi, Nevada
- Evacuations: about 42,000 residents under mandatory “GO NOW” orders and about 45,000 under “GET SET” warnings
- Injuries: 6 people hurt (3 civilians, 3 first responders), described as non-life-threatening; no deaths reported
- Cause: preliminary investigation found the fire was human-caused; no suspect or arrest announced
- State response: Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency for Washoe County; about 60 National Guard troops and roughly 400 firefighters assigned
- Power: NV Energy outages cascaded into California, cutting power to about 15,000 Truckee Donner customers and about 22,000 Liberty Utilities customers
- Schools: Washoe County School District closed all schools Monday, August 24, except Gerlach K-12
Timeline
- Saturday, Aug. 22, ~11:25 a.m. — Hawk Fire ignites off Hawk Meadow Trail near the Somersett Golf and Country Club, northwest of Reno.
- Saturday, Aug. 22 through Sunday, Aug. 23 — Fire grows from about 2,500 acres to more than 10,000, then past 15,000 acres.
- Sunday, Aug. 23, evening — Fire remains at 0% containment; about 42,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders and about 45,000 more are under evacuation warnings.
- Monday, Aug. 24 — Washoe County School District closes all schools except Gerlach K-12; University of Nevada, Reno continues normal operations.
Evacuations underway
The fire has placed tens of thousands of residents under mandatory evacuation orders or in evacuation warning zones. Roughly 42,000 residents are under mandatory “GO NOW” evacuation orders, meaning they’ve been told to leave immediately, and about 45,000 more are under a “GET SET” warning, meaning they should be packed and ready to go on short notice. Nearly 14,000 homes were covered by the orders or warnings. The orders and warnings stretch across a wide swath of land from the California border to the Somersett neighborhood and the North Valleys, reaching toward the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno campus.
Injuries and property damage
Six people have been injured — three civilians and three first responders — and officials describe the injuries as non-life-threatening. No deaths have been reported. Fire officials have confirmed that some homes and other structures were destroyed, but as of Sunday evening they had not released an exact count, saying unsafe conditions were preventing a full damage assessment; CBS News and KOLO-TV reported that roughly 1,000 homes were threatened by the fire.
Cause under investigation
A preliminary investigation found the fire was human-caused, but officials had not released specific details about how it started, and no suspect or arrest has been announced.
State and National Guard response
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency for Washoe County, directing state agencies to coordinate the response through the Nevada Emergency Operations Center. That is a state-level declaration; no national or federal emergency declaration was found in the reporting reviewed. Nevada mobilized about 60 National Guard troops, along with two helicopter crews — a CH-47 Chinook and a UH-60 Black Hawk — to help with aerial firefighting and to secure evacuated neighborhoods. Roughly 400 firefighters from local, state and federal agencies were assigned to the fire as of Sunday. Reno-Stead Airport, north of the city, was also closed because of the fire.
Power outages spread into California
The fire’s spread also triggered widespread, precautionary power outages. NV Energy cut power to protect transmission lines in northwest Reno and the North Valleys. That outage didn’t stay inside Nevada. Utilities in the Truckee and North Lake Tahoe area of California draw power through those same Nevada transmission corridors, so NV Energy’s shutoff cascaded across the state line into California. Truckee Donner Public Utility District reported nearly 15,000 customers without power, and Liberty Utilities reported about 22,000 more, in communities including Glenshire and Loyalton.
Schools closed Monday
The fire also disrupted schools. Washoe County School District closed all of its schools for Monday, August 24, with one exception: Gerlach K-12 stayed open. Truckee Meadows Community College, Coral Academy of Science Reno, and several private and parochial schools also closed for the day. The University of Nevada, Reno assessed fire and smoke conditions on its campus and said it would continue normal operations Monday, even as evacuation orders expanded toward the edge of the campus.
How to check evacuation zones and find shelter
Anyone under an evacuation order or warning can check their address against the current zones using the Watch Duty app or PerimeterMap.com, the two tools Washoe County has directed residents to for live updates; the county’s own emergency site, EmergencyWashoe.com, links out to those tools rather than hosting its own real-time map. An evacuation shelter is open at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Hall 4, 4590 S. Virginia St. in Reno — enter through Door 20F on the Kietzke Lane side — and Washoe County Regional Animal Services, at 2825 Longley Lane, is helping evacuees who have pets.
A different, smaller fire also named Hawk Fire
The wildfire burning near Reno is not connected to a much smaller fire that also carries the name Hawk Fire and has burned in El Dorado County, California, since August 10, 2026. That fire had reached only about 45 acres and 10% containment — far smaller than the Nevada blaze that is driving evacuations, school closures and power outages across the Reno-Tahoe region this weekend.