Every Washoe County School District campus but one sat empty Monday, as the uncontained Hawk Fire kept roughly 90,000 residents under evacuation orders or warnings northwest of the city.
The district’s Sunday night closure notice canceled classes at every WCSD school except Gerlach K-12, a remote campus roughly 100 miles north of Reno that sits well outside the fire’s reach. Mater Academy of Northern Nevada, Coral Academy of Science Reno, Pinecrest Academy of Northern Nevada and Truckee Meadows Community College also closed, while the University of Nevada, Reno stayed open.
WCSD’s own most recently reported enrollment, filed with the federal government for the 2024-25 school year, puts the district at 63,559 students. Gerlach K-12 enrolled 22 students that same year.
Subtract one from the other and 63,537 WCSD students, or nearly 100 percent of the district’s enrollment, had nowhere to go Monday morning. No outlet has run that comparison since the closure was announced Sunday night.
By the numbers, Monday morning:
1. 63,537 of 63,559 WCSD students out of class, all but the 22 enrolled at Gerlach K-12
2. 15,040 acres burned, 0 percent contained, as of Sunday evening
3. 13,700 residences inside the evacuation area
4. At least 6 people injured, 3 civilians and 3 first responders, no deaths reported
How Fast It Grew
The fire was first reported around 11:25 a.m. Saturday off Hawk Meadow Trail, about a mile north of Cold Creek Trail in the Somersett area of northwest Reno, according to Washoe County’s official incident update. Within hours it had grown from an initial 30 to 40 acres into a fast-moving blaze that jumped U.S. 395.
By 9 p.m. Saturday it covered about 10,500 acres with zero containment. At a Sunday press conference, Washoe County officials put the fire at 13,000 acres, with 42,000 residents ordered to evacuate immediately and another 45,000 told to prepare.
By Sunday evening the Washoe Regional Emergency Information Center put the fire at 15,040 acres, still with no containment, and counted 13,700 residences inside the evacuation footprint.
Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam described Saturday night’s rapid spread as chaotic, telling reporters wind directions shifted with little warning. “It was extremely confusing,” he said, according to a report on the Sunday briefing.
Reno Fire Chief Richard Edwards called it “a very dynamic incident,” noting that “wind-driven fires move rapidly into residential areas.”
Washoe County’s Second Wildfire Over 15,000 Acres in Nine Days
The Hawk Fire is not this month’s first major blaze in Washoe County. The Bug and Stallion fires, which ignited August 8 and August 10 near the California line and Spanish Springs, have been burning for more than two weeks and are now largely under control.
The Bug Fire stands at 93,733 acres and 97 percent containment, with 80,916 of those acres on the Nevada side of the state line. The Stallion Fire, entirely within Nevada, is 40,691 acres and 98 percent contained.
Add the Nevada acreage from those two fires to the Hawk Fire’s 15,040 uncontained acres and the county has now seen 136,647 acres burn in less than three weeks. Measured against Washoe County’s 6,315.88 square miles, or about 4.04 million acres, of total land, that is roughly 3.4 percent of the entire county, independently calculated.
The Hawk Fire alone accounts for about a third of a percentage point of that total, on top of the roughly 3 percent the Bug and Stallion fires had already burned before it ignited.
What Else Is Shut Down Today
- U.S. 395 remains closed in both directions between Parr Boulevard and Red Rock Road
- Reno-Sparks Convention Center Hall 4 is open as an evacuation shelter; the Evelyn Mount Community Center reached capacity over the weekend
- About 10,000 NV Energy customers in northern Nevada are without power because of emergency de-energization measures tied to the fire, according to Washoe County’s emergency management site
- Every WCSD school except Gerlach K-12, plus Mater Academy of Northern Nevada, Coral Academy of Science Reno, Pinecrest Academy of Northern Nevada and Truckee Meadows Community College
The Toll So Far, and What’s Still Unconfirmed
At least six people have been hurt, three civilians and three first responders, Washoe County officials said at Sunday’s briefing. No deaths have been reported as of this writing. Roughly 1,000 homes were listed as threatened in Saturday afternoon’s official update, though that count predates the fire’s growth to 15,040 acres and has not been refreshed since.
Multiple outlets have reported that mountainside homes were destroyed, but no agency has released a confirmed structure count, and Two Nevadas is not reporting a specific number of homes lost until one is officially verified.
Gov. Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency for Washoe County on Saturday evening. “I have declared a state of emergency in Washoe County as we respond to the Hawk Fire, which is spreading quickly and threatening homes and structures,” he said, according to a Sunday report on the declaration. Roughly 800 personnel are assigned to the fire, backed by two Nevada National Guard helicopter crews and 60 troops.
The Hawk Fire is an active, developing incident. Figures in this article reflect official reporting as of Sunday evening, August 23, 2026, the most recent update available at publication. Acreage, containment, evacuation zones and casualty counts change quickly during active fire response; readers should check the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and Washoe County emergency management pages for real-time updates.
