The Situation
What is happening now
The Hawk Fire started about 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 22, near Peavine Mountain and the Somersett neighborhood in northwest Reno. Pushed by Red Flag winds gusting to 40 mph, it ran north and west through Saturday afternoon, crossed into Sierra County, California, per KOLO, and jumped US 395 at Peppermint Drive in the North Valleys. As of the Monday, August 24 afternoon briefing, containment reached 27 percent, primarily along the southern edge near Somersett.
The fire is 15,000-plus acres. Progress on containment has allowed some evacuation reductions, primarily in the Somersett area. Damage assessment teams confirmed 32 homes destroyed and 6 damaged as of August 24; TMFPD Chief Richard Edwards said that number will increase as teams work through burn areas. Canine search teams were sweeping for loss of life — no hits as of the August 24 briefing.
About 23,000 residents remain under a mandatory Go Now evacuation order and 40,000 are under a Get Set advisory. Seven injuries are reported: four civilians and three firefighters, the latter suffering minor burns during the initial attack. No fatalities. About 10,000 NV Energy customers are without power in the North Valleys; 11 crews are working to restore service, with more than 100 poles damaged or destroyed.
More than 700 personnel are assigned to the fire, drawn from 15 states as well as Australia and New Zealand. Ten law enforcement agencies are assisting. US 395 remains closed; road repairs and NV Energy infrastructure work are ongoing. Aerial firefighting continues, with scooper planes drawing water from Stampede Reservoir. Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency for Washoe County. Officials confirmed the fire was human caused; specifics have not been released.
Have a lawyer read your policy before you talk to the adjuster
AB376 let carriers quietly strip wildfire coverage at renewal. Most homeowners have not checked whether they still have it. A free review tells you what you actually have and what your deadlines are.
Or call 775-593-8235
Locator Map
Where things are: a schematic, not a perimeter
- GO NOW: mandatory evacuation order. Leave immediately.
- GET SET: warning. Portions of the named areas. Be ready to leave.
- General reported fire area. No perimeter implied.
- Fire jumped US 395 at Peppermint Drive.
- Closed road segment: US 395 NB Parr Blvd to Bordertown; N Virginia St, Red Rock Rd to White Lake Pkwy.
- Open road.
- Shelter: Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Hall 4, 4590 S Virginia St. No pets inside.
- Large animal site: Ironwood Event Center, 5600 Whiskey Springs Rd.
- Reno-Stead Airport: closed to general aviation for firefighting aircraft.
- Hairline grid is for reference only. Not to scale. Positions are schematic.
Evacuation
Evacuation zones and shelters
North and northwest of Somersett; north of Verdi; and the west side of US 395 including Golden Valley, Lemmon Valley, Stead, and Cold Springs. The southern edge of the order reached the edge of the University of Nevada, Reno campus.
Portions of Stead, Golden Valley, Cold Springs, Lemmon Valley, and Silver Knolls.
Shelters
| Location | For | Status and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Hall 4 | People. Primary shelter. | Open. More than 450 people stayed the first night. No pets inside. |
| Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center | People | Reached capacity Saturday. Go to the Convention Center instead. |
| Ironwood Event Center | Large animals | Accepting horses and livestock. |
| Washoe County Regional Animal Services | Small animals | Taking dogs, cats, and other small pets for evacuees. |
Roads and Utilities
Roads, air, and utilities
| Route | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| US 395 NB | Closed | Parr Boulevard to Bordertown. |
| US 395 SB | Evac only | Southbound ramps open between Stead Boulevard and Reno for evacuation traffic only. |
| N Virginia St | Closed | Red Rock Road to White Lake Parkway. |
| 395 @ Peppermint Dr | Fire crossed | The fire jumped US 395 here in the North Valleys. Treat the corridor as hazardous. |
| Reno-Tahoe Intl | Open | Fully operational. Check your airline for schedule changes. |
| Reno-Stead | GA closed | Closed to general aviation so firefighting aircraft can operate. |
Power and gas
About 10,000 NV Energy customers remained without power Sunday, down from a peak above 60,000 Saturday evening, and about 250 gas customers were shut off, per KOLO reporting Sunday. Live counts move constantly; use the NV Energy outage map rather than any static number, including ours.
Smoke and Health
Smoke and safety
For most of the Truckee Meadows the hazard is not flame, it is smoke. Fine particles reach far beyond the evacuation zones and hit children, older adults, pregnant people, and anyone with heart or lung disease first. The points below summarize standard EPA and CDC wildfire smoke guidance; current local readings belong to AirNow.gov, and a live Reno-Sparks number is on our pending list below until we can cite one properly.
- Stay inside with windows and doors closed. Run AC on recirculate. A HEPA purifier, or a box fan with a MERV 13 filter strapped to it, can keep one room clean; live in that room.
- If you must be outside, an N95 or P100 worn snugly with both straps helps. Cloth and surgical masks do not filter wildfire smoke in any meaningful way.
- Do not add particles indoors: no candles, no frying, no vacuuming without a HEPA filter.
- Keep rescue medications close if you have asthma, COPD, or heart disease, and treat chest pain or real shortness of breath as an emergency.
- Check on neighbors, especially anyone elderly, alone, or without a car. A knock on a door is worth more than anything on this page.
The Record
Update log
-
Containment reaches 27 percent, mostly along the southern edge near Somersett. Some evacuations reduced in that area; ~23,000 residents remain under Go Now and ~40,000 under Get Set. Damage assessment confirms 32 homes destroyed and 6 damaged — count expected to increase; canine teams sweeping for loss of life, no hits yet. Injuries now 7 total: 4 civilian, 3 firefighter (minor burns). 700-plus personnel from 15 states, Australia, and New Zealand. ~10,000 NV Energy customers still without power; 11 crews, 100-plus poles damaged or destroyed. US 395 remains closed pending road and NV Energy repairs. WCSO deploying drones to intercept unauthorized drone flights in firefighting airspace. Nevada AG price-gouging warning in effect.
SOURCES: This Is Reno — Aug 24 briefing (TMFPD, Reno Fire, WCSO, USFS)
-
Personnel roughly doubled to about 800. 2News body text puts the fire at 10,500 plus acres as of 5:55 p.m. while its own headline says 15,000; Fox5 Vegas and ABC News reported 13,000 at midday. Containment still 0 percent. No repopulations or downgrades announced.
SOURCES: 2News / Fox5 Vegas / ABC News
-
Officials confirm the fire was human caused; specifics not released. Six injuries reported: three civilians, three first responders, no fatalities. Nevada National Guard CH-47 and UH-60 flying drops with airtankers and at least two other helicopters; 60 Guard ground troops on neighborhood security. Power outages down to about 10,000 customers.
SOURCES: Fox5 Vegas / KOLO / 2News
-
This Is Reno counts 19 road closure points. US 395 northbound closed Parr Boulevard to Bordertown; southbound ramps between Stead Boulevard and Reno open for evacuation only; North Virginia Street closed Red Rock Road to White Lake Parkway. Evacuation zones cover roughly 90,000 people.
SOURCES: This Is Reno / Newsweek
-
Wind-driven runs push the fire across US 395 at Peppermint Drive and into Sierra County, California, per KOLO. Governor Joe Lombardo declares a state of emergency for Washoe County. Red Flag Warning in effect until 11 p.m.: gusts to 40 mph, humidity to 18 percent.
SOURCES: ABC News / Newsweek / 2News, Red Flag Warning / NWS Reno forecast
-
Fire reported near Peavine Mountain and Somersett, northwest Reno, under Red Flag conditions. Evacuations begin in the Somersett area and spread through the day.
SOURCES: 2News / 2News, Red Flag Warning
Homeowner Desk
If you own a home here
This is the part of the page that will still matter in six months. It is educational information about how homeowner insurance works in Nevada, drawn from state regulators, the Legislature, and named reporting. None of it is legal advice, and it does not create any attorney client relationship; your policy language and your insurer's instructions control your situation.
Seven things to do now, in this order
The first four cost nothing and protect everything that comes after them.
- 1. Ask for your complete policy in writing. Not the declarations page — the full form, with every endorsement and exclusion, as it stood on August 22, 2026. Ask for the last three years of declarations pages while you are at it. You cannot argue about coverage you have not read.
- 2. Open the claim, get the number, then email a summary the same day. From here on every phone call gets a same-day written recap. That is how a conversation becomes a document.
- 3. Do not throw anything away until it is photographed and on a list. Not one thing. Burned contents are still evidence of what you owned.
- 4. Ask for an advance on loss of use and on contents — in writing, with a number in it. NAC 686A.675 requires an insurer to pay undisputed portions of a claim without delay.
- 5. Start the inventory now, while the house is still fresh in your mind. That memory fades faster than anyone expects it to.
- 6. Do not give a recorded statement until you have read your policy and know what your duties actually are. You may owe a duty to cooperate. You do not owe a duty to speculate on the record.
- 7. Do not sign a release, or anything called full and final, while any part of the claim is still open.
Wildfire coverage can now legally be removed from a standard Nevada homeowners policy
Nevada's AB376, effective January 1, 2026, allows insurers to exclude wildfire peril from a standard homeowners policy and offer it as a separate product, or not at all. Nevada has no FAIR Plan, no state backstop for people who cannot buy coverage; AB437, the bill that would have created one, died in the 2025 session.
Nevada Current reported that the law lacks robust notification requirements, which means a homeowner may not realize wildfire coverage was removed at renewal. As of roughly seven months after the effective date, no carrier had opted to carve wildfire out, per The Nevada Independent. The protection still exists for most people. The point is that it is no longer guaranteed by default.
What to do: pull your declarations page tonight and confirm wildfire is still a covered peril. If anything in the wording is unclear, put the question to your agent in writing.
The notice rule almost nobody has heard of
NRS 687B.350 forbids an insurer from renewing a policy with a change in coverage provisions unless it notified you in writing at least 30 days before the policy expired. A wildfire exclusion added at renewal is a change in coverage provisions.
The remedy in the statute is not a fine. It is coverage. If the insurer failed to give that notice, it must renew on the expiring terms — which is to say, without the exclusion. And failing to comply with NRS 687B.310 to 687B.390 is itself an unfair practice under NRS 686A.310(1)(m), which under NRS 686A.310(2) makes the insurer liable to you for the damages it caused.
So ask for two things in writing: any notice of change in coverage issued at your last renewal, and proof of the date it was mailed to you. If they cannot produce the second one, that is the argument.
The market was already pulling out of Washoe County
The Hawk Fire is hitting the county that Nevada's insurance retreat has hit hardest. The numbers below are The Nevada Independent's, against roughly one million homeowner policies statewide.
| Year | Canceled / non-renewed | Applications declined |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 264 | ~2,400 |
| 2023 | 481 | ~5,000 |
| 2024 | ~2,700 | 13,600 |
| Year | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $1,407 | A 22.3 percent rise since 2023. Nevada Current (Oct 13, 2025) separately reports rates up 21 percent since 2018. |
| 2025 | $1,672 | |
| 2026 | $1,720 |
Washoe County alone accounted for more than 1,600 of the roughly 2,700 cancellations in 2024, over 60 percent of the statewide total, and more than 6,000 of the 13,600 declined applications. Eight of the top ten Nevada ZIP codes for cancellations and declinations are in Washoe County, per The Nevada Independent. If your policy survives this fire season intact, treat your renewal notice as a document worth reading line by line.
Deadlines your insurer must meet in Nevada
| The insurer must | Within | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Acknowledge your claim | 20 working days | NAC 686A.665(1) |
| Respond to your communications | 20 working days | NAC 686A.665 |
| Pay the undisputed portion of a claim | without delay | NAC 686A.675 |
| Pay, once the claim is accepted | 30 days | NAC 686A.675 |
| Accept or deny, after receiving proof of loss | 30 working days | NAC 686A.675(1) |
| Send a letter explaining why more time is needed, if the investigation is incomplete at 30 days | at 30 days | NAC 686A.675(3) |
Deadlines you must meet — these are the ones that end claims
The table above is what your insurer owes you. This one runs the other way, and it matters more. None of these come from Nevada law. They come from your contract, which is why the first instruction on this page is to go get a copy of it.
| What | Typical period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of loss | commonly 60 days after they ask | Your policy |
| Deadline to sue your insurer | commonly 1–2 years | Your policy |
| Replacing an item to collect withheld depreciation | commonly 180 days to 2 years | Your policy |
| Claim under the unfair practices statute | 3 years | NRS 11.190(3)(a) |
| Suit on the written contract | 6 years, but your policy may cut it | NRS 11.190(1)(b) |
Two coverages people confuse
- Civil authority / prohibited use pays when your home is undamaged but an evacuation order bars you from it. It is typically shorter and more limited.
- Additional Living Expenses (ALE) applies when your home has actual damage and runs longer while it is uninhabitable.
- Limits and durations vary by policy and we will not guess at them. Read your declarations page, and ask your agent, in writing, which coverage applies to your situation.
The contents claim is where the money is
It is also where most people give up. A whole-house inventory runs to thousands of line items and your insurer will not build it for you.
Work room by room, and walk each room in your memory in the same order every time: floor, then walls, then shelves, then inside every drawer and every closet. Do not skip things for being small — a kitchen on its own is usually several hundred items.
Understand that there are two payments. Your insurer pays actual cash value first, which is replacement cost minus depreciation. It pays the withheld depreciation only after you actually replace the item and send in the receipt. That second payment is real money, and it is routinely left on the table because nobody explains it. There is a deadline to replace, and it is in your policy.
Watch the sublimits. Jewelry, furs, firearms, silverware, cash, business property and collectibles usually carry low special caps no matter how large your overall contents limit is.
If the adjuster offers a percentage of your contents limit without itemizing, understand the trade: faster, and it usually leaves money behind. Do not take it just because the inventory feels impossible. Get help with the inventory instead.
Three things to find before you talk rebuild numbers
- Extended replacement cost. Many policies add a percentage above the dwelling limit — often 25 or 50 percent — for exactly the situation where rebuild costs spike after a disaster. Check whether you have it, and how much.
- Ordinance-and-law coverage. When you rebuild you must build to today's code, not the code your house was built under. That gap is not covered by the basic dwelling limit, and in a wildland-urban interface rebuild it can be very large.
- Debris removal. Find out whether it sits inside your dwelling limit or on top of it. If it is inside, it comes straight out of your rebuild money.
Underinsurance is common after a wildfire — the limit was set years ago and construction costs have moved since. Add your dwelling limit, extended replacement cost and ordinance-and-law together, then compare that against a real local rebuild estimate. A serious gap is worth a conversation about how the coverage was scoped when it was sold to you. And ask early: does the policy require you to rebuild on the same lot to collect full replacement cost, and what happens if you buy elsewhere or take the cash?
Loss of use: the categories people forget
Coverage D pays the additional cost of living away from home — the amount above what you were already spending. Nevada sets no minimum period, so the time cap and sublimit in your own policy are the only things governing it. Find both.
Routinely missed: pet boarding, the laundromat, a storage unit, furniture rental, a longer commute, higher utilities at the temporary place, and restaurant meals above your normal grocery spend. Write down your normal monthly baseline once, then log what you actually spend. The difference is the claim.
If they move to cut payments off while the house is still unrepaired, ask in writing for the policy provision, the exact time limit and sublimit, and their calculation. Withholding loss-of-use benefits on an unrepaired loss runs straight at NRS 686A.310(1)(e).
Smoke damage is damage
- Amy Bach, executive director of United Policyholders, told The Nevada Independent (Aug 12, 2026) that smoke from burned cars, garages, and businesses can carry substances that are not safe to live around, and that insurers have historically been slow to address it adequately.
- If your home stands but smells of smoke, document it like damage: photos, video, dates, and any professional testing, before cleanup.
What the Nevada Division of Insurance says to do now
Guidance the Division issued August 12, 2026, condensed:
- Review your policy now, before you need it.
- If you evacuate, take a copy of the policy and your agent's contact information with you.
- Make a narrated video walk-through of your home and belongings; separately document high-value or rare items.
- Photograph everything before debris removal.
- Safety comes before documentation, always.
The Division also urged insurers to be flexible on premium payments during displacement. That is an urging, not a binding moratorium: nothing currently forces a carrier to hold your policy open if payments lapse, so if you cannot pay, call the carrier and the Division rather than going silent.
Keep a daily claim journal from day one. Date, time, name, and the substance of every call with every adjuster or contractor, and put anything that matters in writing, email counts. Six months from now that notebook will be the most valuable document you own.
If the claim goes wrong
- 1. Re-read your policy, then raise the problem with your agent or adjuster in writing.
- 2. Escalate to a supervisor at the carrier, still in writing.
- 3. File a complaint with the Nevada Division of Insurance: free, at doi.nv.gov, consumer hotline 888-872-3234, or by mail at 1818 East College Parkway, Suite 103, Carson City, NV 89706.
- 4. If it still is not resolved, consider a licensed public adjuster or a Nevada attorney of your choosing.
What the statute actually gives you. NRS 686A.310(1) lists the conduct that counts as an unfair practice. The ones that matter in a fire claim: (e) failing to effectuate a prompt, fair and equitable settlement once liability is reasonably clear; (f) compelling you to sue by offering substantially less than what you ultimately recover; (l) holding back payment on one part of the coverage to squeeze a settlement on another; (n) failing to promptly give you a reasonable written explanation, grounded in the policy and the facts, for a denial or a low offer; (o) advising you not to seek legal counsel; and (p) misleading you about a limitations period.
Then NRS 686A.310(2): “an insurer is liable to its insured for any damages sustained by the insured as a result of the commission of any act set forth in subsection 1 as an unfair practice.” That is a right to sue written into the statute itself.
Separately, Nevada caps punitive damages at three times compensatory in most cases — but NRS 42.005(2)(b) removes that cap entirely for “an insurer who acts in bad faith regarding its obligations to provide insurance coverage.” Nevada's bad-faith standard, from Powers v. United Services Automobile Association, is that the insurer had no reasonable basis for disputing coverage and knew of, or recklessly disregarded, the absence of one. A reasonable-but-wrong denial is a contract dispute. An unreasonable one is something else.
Before you hire a public adjuster, know two Nevada gaps. Public adjusters must be licensed under NRS 684A.040, and you can verify a licence through the Division. But Nevada sets no cap on a public adjuster's fee — the percentage is whatever the contract says — and the licensing chapter contains no post-disaster solicitation waiting period, so people will be knocking on doors this week. Many adjusters working a fire hold temporary emergency licences valid for up to 90 days. Read the contract, check the licence, and do not sign on a doorstep. Contractors must be licensed under NRS Chapter 624; unlicensed contracting is unlawful and an unlicensed bid is void.
Money outside the policy, and a warning about it
Insurance is the largest source but not the only one. FEMA individual assistance and SBA disaster loans may become available depending on what is declared; homeowners are eligible for SBA disaster loans, and it is generally worth applying even if you do not want the loan, because other assistance can depend on having done so. A federal disaster declaration also changes how casualty losses are treated on your taxes, and Internal Revenue Code section 1033 can let you defer gain where insurance proceeds are reinvested.
The warning: federal disaster assistance cannot duplicate what insurance pays. Claim what the policy owes you first, understand the offsets before accepting anything, and talk to a tax professional before deciding what to do with proceeds.
Why this keeps happening here
Per Nevada Current: 18.5 percent of Nevada's land area has burned in the past four decades, fifth highest share in the nation, and homes in Nevada's wildland-urban interface grew 208 percent between 1990 and 2020, the fastest rate in the country. Locally, the 2020 Pinehaven Fire destroyed 5 Reno homes and damaged 12 with more than 1,300 evacuated, and the 2024 Davis Fire burned 5,800 acres in Washoe, destroyed 14 structures, and forced 20,000 evacuations. The Hawk Fire is not an anomaly. Plan like it will not be the last one.
Unconfirmed
Not yet confirmed
Numbers we will not publish until we can source them properly, and where to get each one live in the meantime.
Authorities
Official sources. Use these first.
These are the channels that issue the actual orders, maps, and alerts. Everything on this page is secondary to them. In an immediate emergency, call 911.
- Washoe County Emergency ManagementEvacuation orders, zone maps, shelter status, county alerts. The authority for evacuation decisions.
- Truckee Meadows Fire & RescueLocal fire district incident updates.
- Nevada DOT, nvroads.comLive road closures and conditions, including US 395.
- NV Energy Outage CenterLive outage map, restoration estimates, shutoff information.
- National Weather Service, RenoFire weather, wind forecasts, Red Flag Warnings.
- AirNow.govLive air quality for Reno, Sparks, and the North Valleys.
- Nevada Division of InsuranceFree consumer help with insurance claims. Hotline 888-872-3234.
Fine Print
The fine print
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Contact and changes
Privacy requests: [OPERATOR NAME], [POSTAL ADDRESS], or [PRIVACY EMAIL]. If this policy changes, the date at the top of this section changes with it. Last updated August 2026.
Terms and disclaimers
Independent publication
This site is independently published. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by any government or emergency agency, including Washoe County, the State of Nevada, or any fire district. Where anything on this site and an official order disagree, the official order always takes precedence.
Accuracy of information
The information here is compiled from published news reporting and public sources, attributed and timestamped where it appears. Conditions during a fire change hourly, and the information may be incomplete or out of date at any moment. You must verify anything you act on against official sources, which are listed in the official sources section of this page.
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