Nevada brush fire leaves 26 homes in ruins (Reuters)

RENO, Nevada (Reuters) ? A fierce brush fire on the outskirts of northern Nevada's largest city left 26 houses in ruins, but most of the thousands of people chased from their homes were allowed to return even as a major freeway remained closed on Friday, officials said.

By morning, a team of 400 firefighters working with hand tools and bulldozers had managed to carve containment lines around half of the blaze's perimeter, said Mark Regan, a spokesman for the Sierra Fire Protection District.

Authorities said one person was found dead in the fire zone, but it was not immediately clear whether the individual was a victim of the blaze. No further details of the death were given, and no other fatalities or major injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire, which erupted on Thursday afternoon in the Pleasant Valley area south of Reno, remained under investigation, and assessment teams were assembling to survey the damage, Regan said, adding that 26 homes had been confirmed as lost.

At least 2,000 people remained under evacuation as of noon local time on Friday, down from 10,000 residents urged to leave their homes in Washoe County at the height of the fire threat on Thursday, he told Reuters.

The blaze, driven by gale-force wind gusts through parched scrubland, has scorched more than 3,800 acres, prompting the evacuation of 14 communities as it burned north toward the city.

In their haste to save farm animals, authorities opened gates of livestock pens to release horses and cattle onto nearby roads so they could roam out of harm's way on their own.

But by evening, firefighters had managed to halt the forward advance of the blaze at the southern outskirts of Reno, keeping the fire from reaching a metropolitan area of about 420,000 people.

In an added twist, the fire also forced Vice President Joe Biden to cut short a visit to Reno on Thursday. A high school where he spoke to students and parents about college affordability was later evacuated as flames crept to within 500 yards of the building.

Reduced visibility from heavy smoke, along with fallen power lines and debris, prompted authorities to close a 16-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 395, the main route linking Reno to Nevada's capital, Carson City, to the south.

The Nevada State Patrol said the highway remained closed on Friday until further notice, forcing motorists trying to reach Carson City or Lake Tahoe from Reno to take lengthy detours.

The fire was the latest in a string of disasters to strike in and around Reno in recent months. A deadly Amtrak collision 70 miles east of the city killed six people in June of last year.

In September, a gunman opened fire in a Carson City pancake house, killing four people before committing suicide. Also in September, a vintage plane nose-dived near the grandstand at a Reno air race, killing 11 people.

A fire on the edge of Reno in November blackened at least 2,000 acres of suburban scrubland, damaged dozens of homes and was blamed for the death of an elderly man who suffered a heart attack and lost control of his car while fleeing with his wife.

"It is inconceivable that this community has been struck by tragedy once again," Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval told reporters Thursday night. He declared a state of emergency for the fire.

(Additional reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/us_nm/us_fire_nevada

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