Nevada wildfire leaves six injured, thousands forced to evacuate: Here's why fires are surging across the US

A wildfire in Nevada, known as the Hawk Fire, has injured at least six people and forced thousands to evacuate after rapidly spreading across the Peavine Peak area of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, just outside Reno. The blaze, which started on August 22, has burned more than 23 square miles (60 sq km) and destroyed an unknown number of structures, with roughly 90,000 residents impacted by the fire.

With the "GO NOW" zone expanding to the edge of the University of Nevada, 42,000 residents were ordered to evacuate, and an additional 45,000 were placed under an evacuation warning. Authorities are urging residents to evacuate immediately due to shifting and strengthening winds, which are making the fire even more unpredictable.

Over 1,000 first responders, including 800 fire personnel, are working to contain the blaze, and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has declared a state of emergency in Washoe County, calling in the Nevada National Guard for aerial firefighting and police protection. The growing wildfire activity across the US is attributed to increasingly dry and volatile conditions, exacerbated by climate change, which has extended the wildfire season to about 7 months in recent years.

Brief written by urgent.news from Live Mint's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.