One of the worst fires in Nevada's history was nearly a perfect storm of unfavorable conditions and unfortunate circumstances.
Reno Fire Chief Mike Hernandez says ferocious winds, power outages, rocky canyons and gated communities were just some of the things firefighters found themselves up against in the middle of a cold November night battling the kind of blaze more typical of a sweltering August afternoon.
With winds gusting to 70 mph, the flames up to 100 feet tall snaked through narrow canyons and ravines over 2,000 acres.
Hernandez likened it to a run-away locomotive, at one point burning at 20 to 30 mph with flying embers touching off new starts a mile away.
About 30 homes were destroyed. Gov. Brian Sandoval says it is a miracle more weren't lost.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
