RENO, Nev. (AP) — A northern Nevada wildfire burning out of control near the California line more than tripled in size on Tuesday, closing a U.S. highway, forcing evacuations and threatening hundreds of homes as hundreds of firefighters battled the flames from the air and on the ground.
The fire that broke out in the Pinenut Mountains southeast of Gardnerville Monday night sent up a giant plume of smoke visible from more than 70 miles away in Reno.
It has burned across 28 square miles of mostly sagebrush and pine southeast of Lake Tahoe. No injuries have been reported. At least one primary residence has been destroyed.