RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Lightning touched off a series of wildfires across hundreds of acres on the edge of Reno Wednesday, sending up large plumes of smoke just west of the city but posing no immediate threat to homes.
At least 350 acres of sagebrush and scrub pines had burned in the biggest fire Wednesday afternoon at the base of Peavine Peak north of Boomtown hotel-casino on Interstate 80, Forest Service officials said.
The fire at one point burned to within about 1,000 feet of homes in Verdi, just west of Reno, and authorities urged people to stay away from the area so they didn't hamper fire crews. However, no evacuations were ordered.
``There were quite a number of lightning strikes. We can see the flames from our pro shop,'' Dan Rohn, an assistant at Northgate Golf Club on the northwest side of Reno, said Wednesday afternoon. ``There's a lot of smoke but it's probably about eight miles or so away.''
Aircraft dropped retardant on the flames as scores of brush trucks and tankers responded on the ground and local structure engines stood by to protect homes if necessary.
About 200 firefighters were battling the blaze.
The fire smoldered within 1,000 feet of about 40 or 50 homes but never posed any immediate damage to the structures, Forest Service spokeswoman Christie Kalkowski said.
``It is a really slow, creeping fire,'' Kalkowski said. ``They are hitting it hard with the retardant and it has cooled off significantly so it is looking good right now.''
``Up at the top ridges, they have some active flames. But down on the lower part toward the homes it is pretty much going out. It is running out of fuel,'' she said.
