View of the Hawk Fire in South Reno, Nev., Aug. 23, 2026.

LATEST Aug. 24, 3:26 p.m.  RENO, Nev. — The Hawk Fire burning on Peavine Peak, near the California-Nevada state line, is 27% contained, fire officials announced at a press conference Monday afternoon. The containment lines run along the southern perimeter of the fire, near the neighborhoods of Somersett, Mogul, Las Brisas and Robb Drive, where residents are starting to return to their homes after being evacuated over the weekend. 

The blaze, which currently stretches to 15,051 acres, has destroyed 32 homes, Fire Chief Richard Edwards of the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District said during the press conference. Another six homes have been damaged. 

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“We expect those numbers to increase as damage assessment teams are still out in the field assessing other areas right now,” he said. 

Even though evacuation orders are being downgraded for some neighborhoods, thousands of residents are still not allowed to go back to their homes. About 23,000 people who live in Reno’s North Valleys neighborhoods are still under evacuation orders. Another 40,000 people are prepared to leave their homes quickly if the fire worsens. 

Four civilians and three first responders sustained injuries in the fire, Edwards said. The first responder injuries were minor, but he did not provide an update on the civilian injuries. No fatalities have been reported. 

A firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant during the Hawk Fire on Aug. 23, 2026, in Reno, Nev.

Fire officials are working to build containment on the north and east sides of the fire, with heavy equipment, hotshot crews and hand crews all deployed, said Pete Briant, division chief with the Reno Fire Department. Helicopters are scooping water from Stampede Reservoir, across the state line in California, to douse the flames. 

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“There’s a piece of the fire that came across [Highway] 395 when the flame front hit the road, and we’ve successfully contained the area on the east side of 395,” Briant said. A section of Highway 395 north of Reno remains closed to northbound........

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