Close call

Washoe Valley, Nevada, looking west from the foothills of the Virginia Range to the Carson Range. A fire broke out in the inner valley about half-way up the Carson Range in the wee hours on Friday the 14th (see note), and was driven east by high winds (a gust >80 mph was measured at one point). Over 20 homes were destroyed in the forest along the base on the west side, and the wind was blowing the fire across the brush on the valley floor--that's the black mark (see other note). The fire was blocked by a dry flat on the north (to the right), but we are very grateful to firefighters for stopping the fire in the brush to the left. Our house is in that neighborhood below, and we got an evacuation order about 6:00 AM Friday morning. We gathered up the pets and my big RAID external backup and went to an evacuation center at a middle school in Reno. Had breakfast in town, and were allowed to return about 11:00. At least our house was still standing, but it was certainly a reality check. The worst part is that the fire broke out where the Nevada Division of Forestry had been conducting a controlled burn earlier in the week. The lawyers are circling--