Incline Village hand crew responds to Reno fire

Blaze destroys six homes on Northeast Reno street

The Reno Fire Department has no wildland hand crews, so when a major fire broke out in Northeast Reno at about 2:45 p.m. Monday, a call went to the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District’s Incline Hand Crew. The fire destroyed six Ridgecrest Drive homes and scorched a hillside adjacent to the homes.

Steve Frady, Reno Fire Department public information officer said witnesses reported seeing juveniles run away from the fire shortly after it started and asked anyone with information about the juveniles to call at (775) 322-4900.

The fire started on a slope below the homes, Frady said, and was driven upward by wind into the houses.

“This fire was driven by the slope and winds of about 15 to 20 mph,” Frady said. “It destroyed six homes and we’re estimating the cost of the fire is about $2 million.”

Frady said 50 Reno firefighters responded to the blaze in six engines before they called out for backup from agencies like the NLTFPD. Other emergency responders at the scene included Washoe County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Reno Police Department officers.

The fire was contained around 4 p.m. after Frady said firefighters were busy putting out spot fires and keeping embers from landing on roofs within the Ridgecrest neighborhood, which they did before firefighters doused them.

Asst. Chief Greg McKay of the NLTFPD said the Incline Hand Crew was called out at 3:10 p.m. to the blaze. The crews arrived around 4 p.m. and were immediately called on to ‘grid out’ the fire.

“The hand crew follows a square foot by square foot grid in the area of a fire to make sure the entire fire is put out,” McKay said.

The Incline crew — which is a joint crew financed by the NLTFPD and neighbor North Tahoe Fire Protection District — was put to work on the slope behind the Ridgecrest homes, covering the fires with dirt and helping to drag RFD hose lines along the fire area.

McKay said they were released from the fire at about 11 p.m. and returned to Incline at 11:54 p.m. He said it’s not uncommon for NLTFPD crews to be dispatched to a Reno fire once RFD has exhausted their local resources.

Nearly an hour after the fire broke out smoke was still heavy in the Ridgecrest area and many residents evacuated their homes, parking a line of cars on the side of Clear Acre Lane.

One of those residents, Laura Lazenby, lives across the street from the burned-down homes and said the fire came upon her quickly.

“I just got home and was sitting on my backyard porch when I heard sirens coming up (US Highway) 395,” Lazenby said. “There sounded like a lot and they were really close. After that I heard a bunch of popping noises and went out of my front door to see the flames, they were so high.”

Lazenby said the wall of flames across her street caused her to leave her home with only her purse and a pair of pants.

“They tell you to remember to have a baggy with pictures and important documents in it in case of something like this, but you don’t even think of that,” Lazenby said.

Another neighborhood resident, Terry Metcalf, also saw the flames as they started and said they spread quickly from one home to the next.

“It was the first time I’ve ever seen uncontrollable destruction like that,” Metcalf said. “When I left the flames were taller than trees and you could just feel this wave of heat that was pushed by the wind.”

Metcalf said he helped to hose down other homes on the block before fleeing away from the fire when RFD arrived.

According to published reports, poor defensible space in the area is being blamed for the fire’s quick spread.