Wildfire burns near site of 1996 Autumn Hills Fire

A half-acre blaze near Autumn Hills and Foothill on Sunday was the first good sized wildfire, just three days after county commissioners proclaimed May is Nevada Wildfire Awareness Month.

East Fork and Tahoe Douglas firefighters responded to the fire near Cary Creek Court around 4:50 p.m. Sunday.

Homes were threatened by the breezy conditions in the neighborhood near the base of Kingsbury Grade.

Units responded from Carson City, Truckee Meadows and Mono County to help fight the fire and to cover fire stations around the periphery of East Fork Fire Protection District’s jurisdiction. A wildland strike team and helicopter was sought from the Nevada Division of Forestry at one point.

By 5:20 p.m. forward progress was stopped and firefighters had a line around the fire. The fire was declared controlled by around 8 p.m.

Relatively wet conditions over the last week may have slowed the fire considerably.

East Fork responded to a few calls related to controlled burns on Sunday. There was no report of one in the area of Cary Creek on Sunday.

It will be 27 years next month since the 1996 Autumn Hills fire destroyed four homes in the neighborhood, burning up the mountain and threatening upper Kingsbury.