Officials in Nevada in the western United States have urged people to evacuate their homes as a fast-moving, wind-driven wildfire bore down on the city of Reno.
Some 42,000 people have evacuated their homes and another 45,000 have been told to get ready to leave, Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve told CNN.
The one-day-old Hawk Fire had grown to 6,087 hectares by yesterday afternoon and was burning 8km northwest of Reno, a metropolitan area of over 280,000 people.
The blaze has already destroyed some mountaintop homes and injured six people, including three first responders, local media reports said.
The Hawk Fire showed "extreme fire behaviour," according to InciWeb, a US government website that tracks fire activity.
Pictures posted on X by the local fire service showed flames and towering smoke clouds atop mountains that overlook the city.
Governor Joe Lombardo declared a state of emergency in Washoe County, where Reno is located.
The Hawk Fire "is spreading quickly and threatening homes and structures," his order said.
Reno is located in northwestern Nevada near the border with California and the tourist area of Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Local fire chief Richard Edwards urged people to be ready to evacuate immediately when told to do so, or even sooner.
"The Hawk Fire is a very dynamic incident for us as it's being driven by the winds. The wind-driven fires move very rapidly into our residential areas," he warned.
