Winds from the south are keeping Las Vegas skies clear, but the Gothic Fire continues to burn in Nye County. Now at 35,714 acres, the Gothic Fire is 25% contained on Department of Defense land — the Nevada Test and Training Range. It has been burning since July 6, but hasn’t grown significantly in recent days. It is the state’s largest wildfire so far this year, and now there’s a second fire nearby. The Cat Canyon Fire is on Department of Energy land. According to the Bureau of Land Management, the fire is burning grass and moving uphill into timber. A BLM report puts the size at 8,000 acres with 0% containment. The fire was discovered on Saturday.
BLM describes the site as “within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) and Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).” The fire is about 20 miles northeast of Beatty. The Hot Canyon Fire in Elko County was listed at 95% contained on Sunday after consuming 12,794 acres since July 8th. All or parts of eight Nevada counties were under a Red Flag Warning on Monday: Carson City, Churchill, Douglas, eastern Mineral, Pershing, Storey, southern Washoe and western Lyon. The warning extended to far southern Lassen counties in California, as well.
