Evacuations as Nevada wildfire burns homes

RENO, Nevada?? A wind-whipped wildland blaze in Reno raged out of control Friday, destroying 20 homes, injuring several people and forcing hundreds of evacuations, officials say.

"It's tough man, it's tough," Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez told the Reno Gazette-Journal on Friday. "The winds are not helping us at all."

One person died of a heart attack as residents were being evacuated, city spokesman Chris Good told NBC News.

More coverage of the Reno fire at mynews4.com

Residents were being evacuated to Reno High School as the fire continued to advance in the steep canyons and deep ravines. A second shelter was being opened across town at Galena High School, Good said.

Daniel Howell, one of 80 people evacuated to Reno High School's small gym, told the Reno newspaper of his pre-dawn scramble out of the door of his home at Skyline Canyon Apartments on Skyline Drive.

?A fire truck was blaring its horn. Firefighters were banging doors, trying to get everybody up,? he told the Reno newspaper. ?As I walked outside, the smoke was really thick and the sky was glowing red. People were scrambling to get to their cars in the complex.?

?The whole outside was orange and the thick smoke was like fog," Brian Voyles, another Reno resident, told the newspaper.

Firefighters don't know what caused the wildfire.

Reno police said their lines were being flooded with calls for help and asked people only to call 911 in an emergency, NBC station KRNV reported.

Fire officials were looking to bring in other resources from outside the state. They expected crews would be on scene for at least the next 12 to 24 hours.

Strong winds forecast for Friday could complicate the firefighting efforts. Winds out of the southwest at 20-35 mph were forecast, with gusts up to 65 mph, the National Weather Service said. Downslope gusts up to 80 mph were possible in the foothills.

A strong wind advisory remained in effect until 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) local time.

"We're working hard to protect as many homes as we can. It's going to be a long day," Hernandez told the Gazette.

Check back for more details in this developing story.

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45354176/ns/weather/

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