Some 42,000 people have evacuated their homes and another 45,000 have been told to get ready leave, Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told CNN.
The one-day-old Hawk Fire had grown to 6,087 hectares by Sunday afternoon and was burning eight kilometers northwest of Reno, a metropolitan area of over 280,000 people, according to census data from 2025.
The blaze has already destroyed some mountaintop homes and injured six people, including three first responders, local media reports said.
The Hawk Fire showed “extreme fire behavior,” according to InciWeb, a US government website that tracks fire activity.
Pictures posted on X by the local fire service showed flames and towering smoke clouds atop mountains that overlook the city.
Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency in Washoe County, where Reno is located.
The Hawk Fire “is spreading quickly and threatening homes and structures,” his order said.
Reno is located in northwestern Nevada near the border with California and the tourist area of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Local fire chief Richard Edwards urged people to be ready to evacuate immediately when told to do so, or even sooner.
“The Hawk Fire is a very dynamic incident for us as its being driven by the winds. The wind-driven fires move very rapidly into our residential areas,” he warned.