Steve Timko and Jeff DeLong

11:45 a.m. update:

Crews will remain on scene at a Kingsbury Grade fire for about two more days doing mop up, Douglas County Sheriff's Office spokesman Pat Brooks said today.

Kingsbury Grade was closed from about 2:30 p.m. until about 5:30 p.m. for the fire, which had been reported as large as 6 acres but was ultimately determined to be about 1.5 acres.

Hand crews have put a line around the fire, Brooks said. It was remote and found by hand crews, helicopters and air tankers.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

"They're looking at the potential that it was either a lightning strike that happened in the last couple of days or there's a power line right there," Brooks said.

9:30 p.m. update

By about 5 p.m., crews and aircraft had halted the forward advancement of a fire off Kingsbury Grade in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The fire's size was estimated to be as large as six acres at one point, but it has been downgraded to 1.5 acres.

4:37 p.m. update

Fire crews are making good progress in controlling a wildfire burning rugged terrain near the top of Kingsbury Grade, officials report.

Helicopters and air tankers continue attacking the blaze from the air, with the fire's size still estimated at about 5 acres.

"They're hitting it pretty hard and heavy," said Douglas County Sheriff's Sgt. Pat Brooks. "They're getting a pretty good handle on it."

Smoke rising from the fire appears to be diminishing, Brooks said.

No structures are threatened.





3:25 p.m. update:

A fire on Kingsbury Grade has grown to 5 acres and is quickly spreading in dry brush and timber, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office reports.

The fire is being fought by both the East Fork Fire and Paramedic District and the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Management Unit.

They are using three helicopters, two big airtankers and one smaller airtanker to fight the fire and hand crews are being called in, the sheriff's office said.

The area where the fire is burning was described as remote.

They ask the public to stay out of the area.

Homes are threatened near where Kingsbury Grade meets Foothill Road. The upper portion of Kingsbury Grade could have homes threatened, the sheriff's office said.

They are using reverse 911 to notify homes and businesses in the upper area of Kingbury Road on the Carson Valley side.

There have been no evacuations at this time.

2:35 p.m. update:

Nevada Department of Transportation spokeswoman Meg Ragonese said the Nevada Highway Patrol has asked NDOT to close Kingsbury Grade.

The closure goes from the summit to Foothill Road, Ragonese said.

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A wildfire on Kingsbury Grade has not caused any road closures but the "possibility is high" that it could close the road between Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe's south shore.

Firefighters from the East Fork Fire and Paramedic District are trying to reach the fire, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office is also sending people to the road, formally known as Nevada 207.

The sheriff's office said it does not know when the fire started or what direction it is headed.