Active
Hawk Fire, Reno Nevada
We will continue to update this page as response and relief efforts emerge. Follow Burners Without Borders on Facebook and Instagram for timely updates as this response develops. We’ll share verified needs, volunteer opportunities, donation information, and other ways to help as soon as they are confirmed.
The Hawk Fire is impacting our neighbors across Reno and Washoe County at a moment when many thousands of Burning Man participants are beginning their journey through Northern Nevada.
Tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate or prepare to do so, homes and other structures have already been lost, and firefighters and communities across the region are responding to another major wildfire.
If you are traveling through Reno on your way to Black Rock City, please remember: we are guests in communities responding to an active disaster.
And Reno is not the only community carrying the impacts of fire right now.
Just a little farther along the route to Black Rock City, our neighbors in Nixon and across the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation are still recovering from the recent Stallion Fire, which burned close to their communities and brought evacuations and emergency response to the area.
From Reno to Pyramid Lake to Gerlach, please travel through this entire corridor with extra care and consideration.
One of the most immediate ways incoming participants can help is simply by reducing our footprint on Reno right now.
If you are holding a Reno-area hotel room that you don’t truly need, consider canceling it.
Thousands of local residents have been displaced, and lodging is an important resource for evacuees, their families, and emergency personnel.
Where possible, arrive in the region already provisioned. Fuel up and purchase food, water, and other supplies before reaching impacted communities. Avoid evacuation areas and unnecessary travel through affected neighborhoods. Respect road closures, speed limits, fire restrictions, Tribal lands, and the people who live along the route year-round.
For anyone traveling through fire country, we also strongly recommend downloading Watch Duty, the nonprofit wildfire app founded by a longtime Burner. It provides real-time wildfire information, evacuation updates, fire perimeters, and alerts.
And please remember: an app is a supplement to — not a replacement for — official evacuation orders and emergency instructions.
If you want to help, please don’t self-deploy into affected areas. Support established local organizations and respond to verified requests for volunteers, supplies, or donations. Burners Without Borders is following the situation and will share opportunities to support our Northern Nevada neighbors as needs become clearer.
Reno, Nixon, Pyramid Lake, Gerlach, and the communities of Northern Nevada are not simply gateways to Black Rock City.
They are our neighbors.
This is a moment to put our principles into practice.
Travel carefully. Take less- Gift More. Pay attention. And leave space for the people who call this place home..