Moments after the Grass Valley Fire was started on July 17, it consumed a double wide home. The structure was unoccupied and no one was injured.
The fire, which continues to grow, is located 16 miles southeast of Winnemuccca.
The cause of the fire was a vehicle parked along the roadside.
The fire burned over the mountain range to the east and moved south. No structures were in immediate danger as of Thursday and there were no evacuations in place at that time.
High winds and steep terrain caused the fire to grow very rapidly.
The fire burned grass, sagebrush, and pinyon/juniper in the Sonoma range. As of Wednesday morning, Central Nevada Inter agency Dispatch Center reported six engines and three bulldozers were assigned to the fire.
Firefighters assigned to the Grass Valley Fire made progress Wednesday, improving containment lines. Their work was 50% complete as of Thursday.
There were 195 fire fighters on the ground helping battle this fire on July 18. By July 20, the number was down to 83 firefighters. “There has been a big effort with effective response from the local, state and federal level,” Dan Patterson, the BLM public information officer overseeing the Grass Valley Fire said.
There is a temporary flight restriction in place over the fire area.
Firefighters assigned to local fires are also on hand to protect the nearly one million acres surrounding the area, should a new fire start. Some of these resources are visible at the Mobile Command Post at Grass Valley School and the support facilities recently erected at Lowry High School.
Great Basin Type 2 Incident Management Team 5, with Russel Bird as the Incident Commander, received a briefing at 6 p.m. on July 18 and began assuming command of the Grass Valley Fire July 19.
BLM asked that the public to be mindful of the dangerous fire conditions and not to park on dry grass. Anything that is hot or produces a spark has the potential to cause a fire.
