One killed and wildfires in California, Nevada grow after being whipped up by wild weather

A smorgasbord of winter weather, gusty wind and wildfires is impacting Northern California, the Sierra Nevada range and western Nevada this week.

Extreme winds impacted Reno on Tuesday, and a wildfire called the Pinehaven Fire started around 1 p.m. on the city’s southwest corner. Hundreds of suburban homes near State Route 659 were evacuated, according to the Reno Police Department.

Forward progress on the fire was stopped after a dozen structures were destroyed, Reno Fire Chief David Cochran said in social media posts. Road closures and evacuations were expected to be lifted Wednesday morning, Cochran said.

Just south of the Sierra mountains, another wildfire ignited midday Tuesday south of Topaz Lake near the California-Nevada border. That incident quickly swelled to 5,000 acres amid 80-mph winds, forcing evacuations and closing a stretch of Highway 395, according to the Mono County Sheriff’s Office. The incident has been designated the Mountain View Fire.

Deputies on Wednesday confirmed one person was killed in the blaze, adding in a social media post “we are not aware of any other significant injuries, and no persons have been reported missing.”

The fire has charred 20,879 acres and is 1% contained, officials said. Evacuation orders are still in effect for Walker, Coleville and Topaz and Highway 395 from Bridgeport to the Nevada state line is closed.

“It could be days before it’s safe for residents to return,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

Gusty winds have continued, but rain that started to fall around 3 a.m. has helped calm some of the fire activity, as reported Wednesday morning by the Record-Courier newspaper in Douglas County, Nev.

All the while, in sharp contrast to fire weather, a strong winter storm that started Tuesday has dropped heavy rain and snow on the mountains and foothills.

Snow and related spinouts forced a full closure of Interstate 80 from Truckee to the Nevada state line overnight; the highway reopened Wednesday morning. Chain controls remain in place on various stretches of Highway 50 and I-80 due to the continuing snowfall.

The National Weather Service predicted Tuesday and Wednesday could total more than a foot of snow at pass level, with 8 to 12 inches possible at elevations of 5,500 to 6,500 feet on Wednesday alone. NWS has issued a winter storm warning, in place through 6 p.m. Wednesday, with mountain travel highly discouraged.

Heavy precipitation was expected in the foothills; Grass Valley could get up to 4 inches in the two-day storm, NWS said. Isolated thunderstorms are possible in Northern California, most likely from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, and mostly north of Sacramento in the valley and northwest reaches of the state.

Rainfall has been more scattered in the Sacramento Valley, but the capital city started Wednesday with more showers after Tuesday’s quarter-inch made it Sacramento’s rainiest day since early April, according to NWS records. Wednesday could see another quarter-inch or so, forecasts show.

Sacramento will be dry with highs in the low 60s Thursday through the weekend, the latest forecasts predict.

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