A fire that broke out Tuesday in Sparks grew to roughly 100 acres and forced NV Energy to de-energize parts of the area as crews worked to keep the flames away from structures in the Vecchio Drive area.
The outage ripple was broader than the fire line itself. Around 10:30 p.m., power went out in parts of Reno and Sparks, including downtown and south Reno, before service was restored around 11:50 p.m. Even as lights came back on, evacuation orders were still in effect near D'Andrea Golf Club and anyone leaving the area could shelter at the Sparks Library.
The fire started in the area of Geno Martini Pkwy and Garda Ct. in Sparks and was being fought by crews from the Bureau of Land Management and the Sparks Fire Department. Walt White said the fire was about 30 acres at one point and added, “We’ll be sitting on this all night, but it looks like crews are making good progress.” He also said the area does not have great terrain, a factor that can make any fire harder to pin down and helps explain why early acreage reports can shift as crews get a better look.
That gap matters because the incident was described differently over the course of the night: one reading put the fire at roughly 30 acres, while another had it near 100 acres. The difference is not just a number on a scanner log. It shows how fast a fire can change on a Tuesday night in Sparks, when responders are still trying to hold a line, keep the power off where needed and decide which homes and roads remain in the danger zone.
For now, the immediate question is not whether crews were making progress. White said they were. The question is how much ground the fire ultimately held after a night of suppression work, and whether the de-energized areas near the fire stayed contained once the wider Reno power outage had already been restored.
