Davis Fire evacuation warnings expanded as weather conditions take a turn Wednesday

FOX 11. >>THIS IS A VERY, VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. THE FIRE BEHAVIOR IS GOING TO BE SOME OF THE WORST. WE SEE THIS YEAR. AND YOU'RE RIGHT THERE IN IT. >>FIRE OFFICIALS SOUNDING THE ALARM. THE DAVIS FIRE CONTINUES TO RAGE ON. AND AS A COMMUNITY, WE NEED TO BE PREPARED. OUR FIRE COVERAGE CONTINUES RIGHT NOW. GOOD AFTERNOON, AND THANKS FOR JOINING US. I'M MADISON MCCAY. CHRIS MURPHY HAS THE DAY OFF ON THIS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH. IT IS THE 23RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE NINE OVER 11 TERROR ATTACKS IN NEW YORK WE'D LIKE TO TAKE THIS TIME TO HONOR AND REMEMBER THE THOUSANDS OF LIVES LOST AND ALL THE FIRST RESPONDERS THAT GAVE THEIR LIVES IN ORDER TO SAVE OTHERS WE'LL CONTINUE OUR DAVIS FIRE COVERAGE NOW BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SEVERAL UPDATES FOR YOU. WE'LL START HERE. 5828 ACRES HAVE BURNED 31% CONTAINMENT WAS ACQUIRED YESTERDAY, BUT EVACUATION WARNINGS ARE EXPANDING. THEY'RE BEING ISSUED FOR THE AREAS YOU SEE IN YELLOW ON YOUR SCREEN THAT GOES ALL THE WAY UP TO MCCARRAN BOULEVARD, DIRECTLY IMPACTING SOUTH RENO COMMUNITIES WINDY CONDITIONS TODAY COULD PUSH THE DAVIS FIRE SOME 3 TO 7 MILES. IF YOU NEED SOMEWHERE TO GO. THE EVACUATION CENTER HAS NOW MOVED FROM THE WASHOE COUNTY SENIOR CENTER. IT IS NOW LOCATED AT. LOCATED AT THE NEIL ROAD RECREATION CENTER WE ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT NV ENERGY SAYS THERE COULD BE EVEN MORE OUTAGES TODAY DEPENDING ON THE FIRE'S BEHAVIOR AND MOVEMENT, AND WE DO HAVE TEAM COVERAGE FOR YOU THIS AFTERNOON AS FIRE OFFICIALS ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM ABOUT HOW DANGEROUS FIRE CONDITIONS COULD BE, AND SAY THE FIRE COULD MOVE 3 TO 7 MILES TODAY. FIRST, LET'S SEND THINGS OVER TO FOX ELEVEN'S ELIZABETH MITCHELL, WHO JOINS US LIVE FROM SADDLEHORN ELIZABETH, WE CAN VISIBLY SEE ALL OF THAT WIND GOING IN YOUR HAIR >>EXACTLY. MAGGIE. IT HAS DEFINITELY PICKED UP HERE IN TERMS OF WIND AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING FOR THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON. WE ARE EXPECTING TO SEE 70 MILE AN HOUR GUSTS UP IN THE RIDGE CREST AND ABOUT 65 MILES. A WIND GUSTS IN THE VALLEY THAT FIRE OFFICIALS ARE SAYING THIS COULD BE THE WORST FIRE. EFFECTS THAT WE CAN SEE ALL YEAR. THAT IS PROMPTING THOSE MANDATORY NOT MANDATORY EVACUATION WARNINGS ALL THE WAY OUT TO MCCARRAN BOULEVARD. AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE GOING TO BRING IN CHIEF MORE WITH TRUCKEE MEADOWS FIRE AND RESCUE. AND AS YOU CAN SEE, KIND OF BEHIND US, CHIEF FOR US, THINGS ARE STARTING TO PICK UP. AND AS WE JUST SAW THAT HUGE WIND GUST. WHAT CAN YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT? FIRE. WHAT YOU GUYS PLAN ON DOING TODAY TO KIND OF KEEP THINGS UNDER CONTROL? IF POSSIBLE? >>WELL, AS PREDICTED, THE WINDS ARE HERE. WE HAVE A TRIGGER POINT ESTABLISHED. SO IF IT BURNS PAST THAT TRIGGER POINT, THEN WE'RE HITTING THE BUTTON ON GOING BIGGER WITH EVACUATIONS. AND IT GETS REALLY SERIOUS ONCE IT GETS PAST THAT TRIGGER POINT THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED. >>ABSOLUTELY. AND WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE KNOW IF THEY ARE IN THE EVACUATION WARNINGS? HOW QUICKLY COULD THOSE TURN TO MANDATORY EVACUATIONS AS WE HEAD INTO THE LATER AFTERNOON HOURS? >>WELL, THEY COULD THEY COULD HAPPEN AT ANY MINUTE. OBVIOUSLY THE THE WIND IS JUST PICKED UP, BUT IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE IT'S ALMOST BLOWING ME OVER RIGHT NOW. SO THIS WIND IS GOING TO BE WITH US UNTIL 8 P.M.. SO THAT'S PLENTY OF TIME FOR THAT WIND TO STOKE THIS FIRE AND TO GET REALLY BAD. >>ABSOLUTELY. AND WITH THOSE WINDS BEING THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, AIRCRAFT IS GROUNDED TODAY. SO THERE'S GOING TO BE NO AERIAL SUPPORT WITH THIS FIRE. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF A SETBACK FROM YESTERDAY ON FIGHTING THIS FIRE? >>IT'S A BIG SETBACK FOR US BECAUSE WE WERE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS WITH THE AIRCRAFT. BUT WITHOUT ANY AIRCRAFT IN THE AIR THAT MEANS IT'S SUPPRESSION GOES ALMOST TO NOTHING AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE TOTALLY DEFENSIVE TODAY. >>ABSOLUTELY. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. AND IT IS GETTING REALLY WINDY OUT HERE. AS YOU GUYS CAN TELL. MY EYES ARE STARTING TO WATER. TRASH CANS WERE JUST KNOCKED OVER. AND LIKE CHIEF MOORE MENTIONED, WE WERE LITERALLY GETTING PUSHED BECAUSE OF THOSE WIND GUSTS AGAIN, RIDGECREST CAN SEE UP TO 70 MILES AN HOUR TODAY AND 65 MILES AN HOUR DOWN IN THE VALLEY AS IT PICKS UP AGAIN, I'M GOING TO SEND IT BACK TO YOU. JUST EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY CONCERNING CONDITIONS OUT HERE. WITH THE DAVIS FIRE STILL ACTIVELY BURNING. >>ELIZABETH, WE CAN HEAR THAT WIND HOWLING. YOUR EYES ARE WATERING. CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE HOW DIFFICULT THAT FIRE FIGHT WILL BE TODAY. REALLY QUICKLY, IF WE COULD, BEFORE WE LET YOU GO WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW IN RELATION TO THE FIRE? BECAUSE WE SAW YOU PAN OFF TO SOME OF THAT SMOKE. WHEREVER YOU ARE RIGHT NOW ALONG SADDLE HORN, IT IS GETTING DANGEROUS OUT THERE >>YEAH, WE ARE JUST A LITTLE OUTSIDE OF ARROW CREEK ON. IT'S CALLED CRESTED WHEAT WAY. BUT AGAIN, AS YOU CAN SEE, I'M JUST GOING TO KIND OF STEP OFF. WE THIS IS HOW CLOSED WE ARE TO THOMAS CREEK ROAD TO MOUNT ROSE HIGHWAY. ALL OF IT JUST BURNING RIGHT UNDERNEATH THE SKI RESORT. AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, WE'RE HAVING A HARD TIME PINPOINTING EXACTLY WHERE IT'S BURNING, BUT JUST THE GALENA AREA OVER THERE, AS YOU CAN SEE, AND JUST WIND BEING PUSHED OFF. BUT IT IS STARTING TO PICK UP AGAIN. IT'S STARTING TO STOKE UP AGAIN BUT AGAIN, THAT WIND IS JUST GOING TO BE CRUCIAL TODAY IN FIRE SUPPRESSION AND ALL OF THAT WHICH THEY'RE SAYING AIRCRAFT AGAIN BEING GROUNDED. SO THAT TAKES THAT PART AWAY. BUT AGAIN THESE WINDS ARE JUST FEROCIOUS OUT HERE THIS AFTERNOON. >>ELIZABETH, PLEASE STAY SAFE. WE'LL CHECK IN WITH YOU AGAIN WITHIN THE NEXT TEN, 15 MINUTES. FOR NOW WE'RE GOING TO BRING YOU REYNA PLUNKETT IN. SHE IS KEEPING AN EYE OUT ON THOSE WINDS. I MEAN, IRINA, YOUR REACTION TO ELIZABETH'S SHOT RIGHT NOW, IT FELT LIKE ALL MORNING WE WERE SITTING DUCKS JUST WAITING FOR THE WIND EVENT TO START. >>AND HERE IT IS, FOLKS. WE'RE SEEING GUSTS UPWARDS OF 44MPH BY WASHOE VALLEY. THIS IS THE TYPE OF WINDS THAT MAKE DANGEROUS FIRE CONDITIONS. AND YES, YOU GUESSED IT, RED FLAG WARNINGS. IN EFFECT TO AT LEAST 8 P.M.. HERE IS THE CURRENT WIND GUSTS RIGHT NOW 35MPH. YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO SEE THAT AS I TAKE YOU OUTSIDE HERE IN RENO. WE'RE FEELING THE WINDS 29 IN TRUCKEE AND 33 BY TAHOE CITY LET'S GO OUTSIDE NOW AND SHOW YOU THE RICKETY CAMERA AS IT GOES BACK AND FORTH. AND THIS IS GOING TO BE THE SCENE WITH A LOT OF CAMERAS AROUND THE AREA. 79 DEGREES WINDS THAT ARE MODERATE ONCE AGAIN COMING IN FROM THE WEST AROUND 20MPH, THEY WILL BE GUSTING UPWARDS OF 45. AND WITHIN THE NEXT THREE HOURS OF WHERE ELIZABETH IS, SHE WILL SEE GUSTS UP TO 50MPH. THAT IS GOING TO MAKE THE FIREFIGHT NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO SAFELY GET IN THERE. HERE'S THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS FOR YOU BY 1 P.M. 78 AROUND THREE UPPER 70S, AROUND 575 DEGREES. WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT WINDS, WEATHER ALERTS, AND HOW YOU CAN PREPARE IF YOU'RE POTENTIALLY IN THAT EVACUATION ZONE MATTI. >>IRINA, THANK YOU SO MUCH. AND RESIDENTS ACROSS THE EVACUATION AREAS ARE PREPARING THEIR PROPERTIES AS THE DAVIS FIRE INCHES CLOSER AND CLOSER, OUR BEN MARZA IS LIVE FROM THE SADDLE HORN NEIGHBORHOOD WITH HOW PEOPLE ARE GETTING READY IN CASE THE FIRE COMES DOWN THE HILL TODAY AND BEN, I MEAN, EVEN JUST SO SAD AND SO DIFFICULT TO TALK ABOUT THE IDEA OF LEAVING EVERYTHING YOU OWN TODAY >>ABSOLUTELY. AND WE'RE SEEING SOME OF THE FOLKS RIGHT OVER MY SHOULDER JUST A MOMENT AGO THAT ARE MAKING THAT DIFFICULT DECISION TO LEAVE THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. WE DROVE AROUND A NEIGHBORHOOD NEAR GALENA HIGH SCHOOL THIS MORNING, AS WELL AS THIS SADDLE HORN NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE'RE IN NOW, AND SAW PEOPLE DOING LAST MINUTE PREPARATIONS. MAYBE THEY PUT OFF TRYING TO CREATE SOME OF THAT DEFENSIBLE SPACE, BUT WE SAW FOLKS USING CHAINSAWS TO CUT DOWN TREES, CLEAR BRANCHES, HAUL THEM OUT OF THE AREA, AND TRY AND GET AS MUCH OF THAT DRY VEGETATION OUT OF THEIR PROPERTIES. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, AND TRY AND CREATE SOME DEFENSIBLE SPACE, WHILE MOST OF THE PEOPLE IT SEEMS ARE GONE OUT OF THE AREA, THERE ARE MANY WHO HAVE STAYED BEHIND. AS I MENTIONED TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN AT THE LAST MINUTE TO GET VEGETATION OUT OF THEIR AREA. WE JUST AS YOU HEARD FROM CHIEF CHARLIE MOORE TELLING US AT A MINIMUM, YOU KNOW, YOU WANT FIVE FEET OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE, BUT REALLY YOU WANT 20 TO 30FT OF DEFENSIBLE SPACE TO GIVE YOUR HOUSE THE BEST CHANCE OF SURVIVAL. IF THE FIRE DOES INDEED BLOW DOWN THE MOUNTAIN INTO SOME OF THESE NEIGHBORHOODS, WE SHOULD POINT OUT WE WILL SAY THAT THE NATIONAL GUARD, AS WE MENTIONED LAST NIGHT, HAS BEEN DEPLOYED TO THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND THEY ARE ENFORCING SOME OF THESE ROAD CLOSURES, AS WELL AS MAKING SURE THAT THE ONLY PEOPLE COMING THROUGH HERE ARE THE NEWS MEDIA TRYING TO BRING YOU THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THIS FIRE. AS WELL AS THE RESIDENTS THAT ARE COMING BACK TO TRY AND GET MORE OF THOSE VALUABLE BELONGINGS AND IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS BEFORE THEY HEAD OUT AND GET INTO OUT OF HARM'S WAY, I SHOULD SAY. BUT FOR NOW, WE'LL SEND IT BACK TO YOU IN THE STUDIO MATTY. >>BEN, YOU'VE BEEN REPORTING IN THIS COMMUNITY FOR YEARS NOW, AND YOU'VE DONE YOUR COVERAGE ON WILDFIRES YEAR AFTER YEAR. HAVE YOU SEEN OR FELT ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE >>CERTAINLY COVERING THE FIRE THAT BLEW THROUGH CAUGHLIN RANCH A FEW YEARS BACK AND THAT ONE WE HAD HOWLING WINDS. I IMAGINE WE WILL EXPERIENCE THOSE SAME TYPE OF WINDS THIS AFTERNOON. YOU'RE STARTING TO SEE IT NOW. AND IT WAS REALLY JUST WITHIN THE LAST 10 OR 15 MINUTES, AS ELIZABETH MENTIONED, THAT THOSE WIND GUSTS PICKED UP. AND HERE SPECIFICALLY WHERE IT IS SO DRY, WE'RE SEEING JUST DUST BLOW THROUGH THE AREA, IN MY EXPERIENCE COVERING THESE FIRES, PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT THE FIRE THREAT IN THE SUMMER REALLY, IT CAN BE ANY TIME, ESPECIALLY LATER ON IN THE SUMMER, EARLY FOLLOW, WHEN ALL IT TAKES IS A BAD WINDY DAY, LIKE WE ARE EXPECTING TODAY FOR THINGS TO REALLY GET OUT OF HAND. AND LET'S HOPE AND PRAY THAT IT DOESN'T COME TO THAT TODAY MATTY. >>ABSOLUTELY, BEN. SEEING THE NEVADA NATIONAL GUARD DRIVE PAST RIGHT BEHIND YOU DURING THAT JUST