A large fire broke out around 3:00 p.m. yesterday, Wednesday, September 7 in Hazen at the Omaha Track Facility with the large pile of railroad ties on the north side of the facility combusting. The piles of ties are located between the Union Pacific tracks on the north and Highway 50 on the south.
Strong winds and high temperatures contributed to a quick burning, incredibly hot fire, with flames reaching 400 feet.
The Fallon/Churchill Fire Department was on scene along with the North Lyon Fire Department, and Fed Fire from NAS Fallon, attempting to control the blaze. At approximately 5:30 p.m. officials close Highway 50, routing westbound traffic down the Carson Highway to Silver Springs and detouring eastbound traffic down Highway 95A south to Silver Springs. The road is closed from Farm District Road to Leetville Junction.
There has not been an estimate on when the road will reopen.
Due to air quality from the smoke, Churchill County, the City of Fallon, and the Churchill County Sheriff have all issued a precautionary warning to stay inside as much as possible with the windows closed.
Churchill County schools will remain open, with both Oasis Academy and the School District assuring parents that their students will be kept indoors as much as possible.
Currently, there is no estimated timeframe for the fire to be out, but officials anticipate it will be long-burning and last for several days.
The cause of the fire is not known and calls to Omaha Track have not been returned at this time. Officials on-site at the fire say the past several days of over-100 degree heat could be a factor.
We will continue to update this story.
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