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The city is intact. That’s thanks to firefighters ( thanks, firefighters! ) who managed to hold the line on last week’s Davis Fire which tore through the north end of Washoe Valley and threatened a pretty big swath of Reno. No, really, they were pretty sure flames would nearly reach McCarran Boulevard about five days ago. Eleven homes were lost, as well as Holy Spirit Catholic Mission . The iconic Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory, despite widespread rumor, survived intact .
The good news: As of Monday afternoon, the fire was 85% contained with 5,824 acres burned , and contained to areas largely south of Mt. Rose Highway .
The bad news: Next time any part of the city gets mandatory evacuation orders, residents will say, “Eh, they give crazy evacuation orders all the time, let’s not panic until the back fence is in flames.”
What caused the fire? Not lightning, and not an electrical malfunction; that’s what investigators know so far. Siobhan McAndrew has more .