Nevada wildfire contained
RENO, Nev. — The wildfire that destroyed 29 homes near Reno is contained. Thousands of evacuees are back home. And the family of the woman found dead says there’s no point in prosecuting the remorseful man who accidentally started it.
Fire officials declared the blaze contained after a storm brought precipitation that the region hasn’t seen in months. All evacuations were lifted and U.S. 395 reopened through the 3,200acre fire zone.
But in addition to two inches of rain, the storm also brought another challenge for emergency workers. Officials fear its potential for causing flooding in burned areas, after one of the driest winters in Reno history.
“I’m confident we’ll be able to respond successfully if necessary,” manager of Washoe County, Nev., Katy Simon said, adding that hydrologists and officials were monitoring the situation.
The blaze erupted shortly after noon on Thursday and raced quickly through the dry countryside, propelled by wind gusts of 82 mph. At its height, the fire forced evacuation calls for some 10,000 people.
The blaze was very similar to a wildfire that destroyed 30 homes in Reno in mid-november.
June Hargis, 93, was found dead in a studio apartment next to her daughter’s home in Washoe Valley, where the fire started. Washoe County sheriff Mike Haley said her cause of death has not been established, so it’s not known if it was fire related. No other fatalities or major injuries were reported.
Her family said Saturday that there was no point in prosecuting the man who admitted accidentally starting it by improperly discarding fireplace ashes outside his home.
Authorities have described man, whose name was not released, as being extremely remorseful.
Haley said that prosecutors will have to give the case a lot of deliberation. “The fact he came forward and admitted it plays a role. But so does the massive damage and loss of life,” he said Friday. “It’s a balancing act.”
Hargis’s son, Jim Blueberg, 68, told The Associated Press Saturday that he didn’t think filing criminal charges against the elderly man “would do any good.”
“The man had the courage to come up and say he did this. He’s remorseful. I think he’s punished himself enough. It was a silly, stupid mistake to make, there’s no doubt about that. But I just want him to know I forgive him, and my heart goes out to him,” he said.
His sister, Jeannie Watts, 70, had returned home from an errand to find the apartment next door and a barn with three horses inside engulfed in flames. She agreed that there was probably no need to file charges against the man.
“What good is that going to do? Everything is already gone,” Watts said. “He’ll pay the rest of his life for that.”