A fast-moving wildfire named the Hawk Fire prompted a state of emergency in Nevada's Washoe County after it exploded from roughly 3,000 to over 10,000 acres within hours on Saturday, forcing thousands of Reno-area residents to flee their homes. Governor Joe Lombardo declared the emergency as the blaze, described as "spreading quickly and threatening homes and structures," remained completely uncontained by Saturday night, while officials confirmed some structures had already been destroyed.

The fire began around 11.30am near Somersett and grew to 10,523 acres by evening, triggering "go now" evacuation orders for areas including north and northwest Somersett, Verdi, Golden Valley, Lemmon Valley and Stead, affecting more than 6,000 people in total. Around 1,000 homes were threatened, nearly 50,000 people lost power, a stretch of US Route 395 was closed, the North Valleys emergency room had to be evacuated, and an emergency shelter was opened at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center after an earlier evacuation site reached capacity.