Gains made against fire near Dayton
DAYTON -- Firefighters reported progress Friday in their battle against a 470-acre wildfire that is burning in sage grouse habitat in the northern end of the Pine Nut Mountains near Dayton.
Bureau of Land Management spokesman Mark Struble said the fire around Rawe Peak, near the ghost town of Como, was 80 percent contained Friday morning.
No homes were threatened, and no injuries were reported.
More than 270 firefighters were challenged by steep, rugged terrain as the fire was being fueled by a heavy growth of sagebrush, and pinyon and juniper trees, Struble said.
The fire was believed to have been touched off by a piece of heavy equipment that knocked over a power pole on Thursday about 17 miles east of Carson City, Struble said.
"The BLM just encourages anyone using heavy equipment to be extremely careful," he said Friday. "There's still a lot of vegetation left over from past years that hasn't burned."
The fire was expected to be fully contained by tonight.
