Emergency

Yesterday evening, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced bars, pubs, taverns, distilleries, breweries, and wineries that don’t serve food in certain Nevada counties must close effective 11:59 p.m. today to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the State.

Today, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) announced the elevated disease transmission criteria for determining whether a county must revert back to Phase 1 for bars, in addition to the seven counties that meet that criteria.

Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered the first major rollback of the state’s business reopening plan amid the COVID-19 pandemic by ordering bar closures in counties with spiking caseloads and limiting restaurant dining to parties of no more than six people.

The Division of Industrial Relations Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun conducting follow up visits to business establishments that were previously found to be in noncompliance with the face covering requirement, social distancing and other measures to protect the safety and health of Nevada’s workforce.

UPDATE 3:58PM: Smith Valley Fire Protection District reports that the fire is looking much better and that the fire behavior is more favorable this afternoon. SVFPD reports that the threat to Lyon County is much diminished from this morning. Lyon County will continue to monitor the fire and keep you informed of any changes.
***
Lyon County Emergency Management has been notified by the Smith Valley Fire Protection District that there is a possibility that the Numbers Fire could spread to Lyon County in the Smith Valley, Wellington area.

Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch reports Wednesday that the #NumbersFire southeast of Gardnerville has grown to 20,500 acres. The Bureau of Land Management reports a lower figure, 18,000 acres, with 5 percent containment, or a fuel break around the fire.

In an effort to protect Nevada’s workers and educate businesses on the latest requirements so that Nevada can stay safe and stay open during the pandemic, the Division of Industrial Relations Occupation Safety and Health Administration is conducting ongoing field observations and inspections at establishments where patrons congregate for longer periods of time, which can lead to a heightened risk of spreading COVID-19.

Gov. Steve Sisolak has released a proposal ahead of a special legislative session slated to begin Wednesday in Carson City that would slash and shift hundreds of millions of dollars from agency budgets and other programs to close an estimated $1.2 billion shortfall caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Tens of thousands of Nevada small businesses and organizations — from casinos and law firms to churches and even strip clubs — received at least $3.1 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program stimulus package, according to a massive disclosure made by the federal government.

Businesses following the Nevada governor's directive requiring face coverings shows 84 percent of businesses in northern Nevada and 66 percent of businesses in southern Nevada were in compliance "on the date of the initial observation," according to a Nevada OSHA news release Monday.

Statewide partners collaborated to launch Nevada’s first website focused on first responder Crisis Intervention Team training and other behavioral health resources which can be found at nvcit.org.

Carson City Fire Department, sheriff's deputies and the Nevada Highway Patrol responded Sunday morning to a traffic crash in the area of Highway 50 East and Arrowhead.

CARSON CITY — Most uninsured Nevadans now qualify for Medicaid coverage for COVID-19 testing at no cost. Nevada Medicaid now covers COVID-19 testing and testing related services for most uninsured Nevadans, available under the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Wednesday that he is planning to begin a special session in Carson City to address the State’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget on Wednesday, July 8. The planned date of the session was determined after coordinating with legislative leadership.

There’s been a lot of confusion and discussion since Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak mandated that everyone must wear a face covering while in public, and one of the points of confusion was which agency is handling reports of non-compliant businesses.

Laws implementing a wide range of criminal justice reforms, establishing a state board responsible for regulating marijuana and creating a payday loan database finally take effect Wednesday, more than a year after the 2019 legislative session ended.

The Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team is promoting Lake Tahoe Wildfire Awareness Month during July. This year’s theme is “Fight fire with a plan” to encourage residents and visitors to prepare their family, property and possessions now before a wildfire starts by creating a plan.

According to Storey County Commissioner Jay Carmona the fireworks show in Virginia City has been canceled today as of 1 p.m. The Cruise will be continuing as planned.

According to Carmona, there was an issue with releasing the cancellation announcement but the fireworks are indeed cancelled this year.

Feeding Pets of the Homeless, a national animal welfare nonprofit based in Carson City, Nev., received a $5,000 grant. The Humane Society of the United States grant helps to provide financial assistance towards fulfilling their mission.

In a letter distributed to all students, families, employees and community members, Carson City School District Superintendent Richard Stokes announced that due to the emergency directives from the Office of the Governor, schools within the District cannot reopen in normal fashion to begin the 2020-2021 school year.

Carson City Fire Department, sheriff's deputies and the Nevada Highway Patrol were called early Monday evening to a vehicle rollover near Spooner Junction.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Monday that Nevada will remain in Phase 2 of the Nevada United: Roadmap to Recovery plan, consistent with public remarks made late last week.

The next Carson City Board of Supervisors meeting will be held Thursday, July 2 beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Sierra Room of the Community Center, located at 851 E. William Street.

On the docket for discussion includes residential building permit allocations for the next four years, new committee members for the Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee, amendment to the diesel tax and more.

Finalized data from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) show initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) totaled 10,347 for the week ending June 20, down 273 claims, or 2.6 percent, compared to last week’s total of 10,620. This is the eighth consecutive week of declines in regular initial claims.

Through the week ending June 20, there have been 538,892 initial claims filed in 2020, 517,240 of which have been filed since the week ending March 14.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed Emergency Directive 025 on Thursday, which will gradually lift the moratorium on evictions. He also strongly urged landlords and tenants to work together and collaborate on repayment plans.

Moved by the tragedy of the 2018 Camp Fire, a team of engineers and scientists are coming together in a new 5-year project to develop a comprehensive, holistic, computational live, digital platform to predict and monitor wildfire risk that can be used by wildfire managers, emergency responders and utility companies to plan for, respond to and remediate wildfires.

UPDATE 3:39PM: The Monarch Fire is approximately 2,500 acres and currently 5 percent contained. No structures are immediately threatened at this time and the fire is believed to be lightning caused from the previous day. Responding agencies include East Fork, Central Lyon, North Lake Tahoe, North Lyon, Story County, Tahoe Douglas and Truckee Meadows Fire Protection Districts, Reno Fire Department, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Division of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service.
***
As of 9:45 a.m. Thursday morning, the fire in the Pine Nuts in Douglas County, which has been named the Monarch Fire, now covers a total of 1,794 acres.

Multiple agencies are on scene to try and control the fire which is thought to have been caused by a lightning strike during yesterday’s thunderstorm.

Citing a troubling uptick in the state’s COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced a new state mandate requiring individuals to wear a facial covering or mask while in public.

UPDATE 5:18 p.m.: the acreage of the fire has been updated to 1,600 acres.

UPDATE 4:12 p.m.: the acreage of the fire has been updated to 800 acres.

UPDATE 3:21 p.m.: Douglas County releases the following press release:

Minden, NV- Several agencies including Bureau of Land Management, Douglas County Sheriff's Office, East Fork Fire, the US Forrest Service and the Nevada Division of Forestry are currently responding to the Monarch Fire, a Brush fire in the Fish Springs Pinenut Creek Rd area.

No structures are threatened at this time.

No active road closures at this time.

Douglas County is asking the public to please stay aware of your surroundings. The fire is moving possibly East of community. Stay aware and alert in the event of wind changes. The fire is currently estimated to be around 800 acres. (subject to change)

Please Call 911 if you need help. We have sent out a cell phone message to those in the area but you may also receive the alert in other areas in the valley.

As a reminder, please make sure your cell phone is signed up for our reverse 911 emergency alert notification system. You can register your cell phone here.

We will continue to update you as the information becomes available on this page: https://www.douglascountynv.gov/cms/One.aspx

UPDATE 3:10 p.m: a second fire was reported near Topaz Lake.

UPDATE 2:31 p.m.: the acreage of the fire has been updated to 250 acres.

UPDATE 2:19 p.m. the acreage of the fire has been updated to 80 acres.

UPDATE 1:56 p.m.
A press release was issued regarding the fire which states the following:

East Fork fire is currently responding to a Brush fire named the #MonarchFire in the Fish Springs Pinenut Creek Rd area, and is asking the public to please stay aware of your surroundings. The fire is moving possibly East of community. Stay aware and alert in the event of wind changes. Call 911 if you need help. Fish Springs, South and East of the community and covering the Sierra Spirit Ranch. We have sent out a cell phone message to those in the area but you may also receive the alert in other areas in the valley. We will continue to update you as the information becomes available.

East Fork Fire Protection District responded Wednesday afternoon to a brush fire off of Pine Nut Road in Douglas County.

UPDATE: Forward progress on the brush fire was stopped at 3:22 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
***
Central Lyon County Fire Department was called Monday afternoon to a brush fire in Dayton near Townsend Street and Andrea Way. Carson City Fire Department was also called to respond as mutual aid.

A special session of the Nevada Legislature will happen in Carson City sometime in early July, the governor's office announced Monday.