The Hawk Fire forced about 90,000 people to evacuate in northwest Reno on Sunday, August 23, 2026, as the blaze spread across the Peavine Peak area near the California state line. Burning Man 2026 now sits against a worsening wildfire scene, with the fire still uncontained and homes already lost.
The fire grew to more than 23 square miles by Sunday after starting Saturday. Six people were injured, including three first responders and three civilians, and firefighters were still trying to hold the line around a rugged stretch of foothills ringed by homes and businesses.
Peavine Peak and Reno
The fire’s footprint in the Peavine Peak area of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest put northwest Reno in the path of the evacuation order. That location matters because the fire was not burning in open country far from people; it was moving through a built-up edge where crews had to protect structures while also trying to reach hot spots.
Shifting winds made that job harder. The fire jumped over fire trucks and kept crews from getting to hot spots quickly, a sign that containment work was being forced to chase the blaze rather than box it in.
90,000 evacuations
About 90,000 people were urged to leave on Sunday, a number that turns this from a local wildfire into a mass-displacement event for Reno and nearby neighborhoods. The scale also explains why the injury count already included both responders and civilians: the fire was moving through the same area where people live and work.
Homes were destroyed in northwest Reno on Sunday, adding property loss to the evacuation burden. That damage, combined with more than 23 square miles burned, shows the fire had already moved beyond an initial response phase and into a broader emergency for the area.
Human-caused, uncontained
Authorities said the fire was human-caused, but they did not give details on how they reached that conclusion or whether it was accidental or intentionally set. That gap leaves the start of the blaze as the story’s unanswered point, even as the fire kept growing and crews faced zero containment.
For people in the evacuation zone, the immediate takeaway is simple: stay out of northwest Reno until officials say the danger has eased, because the fire is still uncontained and the wind has already complicated the response. What started on Saturday is still unfolding, and the next move will depend on whether crews can stop the spread before it pushes farther through the foothills.
