Marcella Corona

mcorona@rgj.com

Investigators confirmed Wednesday that the 2,291-acre Little Valley Fire, which destroyed 23 homes earlier this month, was caused by a prescribed burn conducted by the Nevada Division of Forestry.

The fire sparked on Oct. 14 in the Washoe Valley area and has since been fully contained, according to Sierra Front Interagency Dispatch Center. The fire spread with the help of 80 mph gusts from a storm that blew through the Sierra foothills.

'I don't know how to go on': What's been lost in Little Valley Fire

The blaze also destroyed 17 outbuildings. Four people were reportedly injured from smoke inhalation during the initial response to the fire, according to earlier reports from Sierra Front.

The fire burned about three miles west of U.S. 395 and nearly a mile northwest of Little Valley Road, according to the incident report. Investigators said in the report that the fire “was the result of an escape from the Little Valley prescribed fire."

The Little Valley Fire sparked about 15 to 20 feet from the control line of the prescribed burn. Embers from smoldering vegetation crossed the control line for the prescribed burn and “ignited unburned vegetation outside the prescribed fire,” investigators said in the report.

The Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources requested an in-depth and independent review to be conducted by investigators from across the nation, interim director Kay Scherer said in a statement Wednesday.

Scherer said the goal is to gain more information on the prescribed burn. That burn was set Oct. 3 and ran through Oct. 7 in western Washoe Valley, according to the formal request made by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The Nevada Division of Forestry released the following statement Wednesday:

“The Nevada Division of Forestry is deeply moved by and concerned with the tragic impacts to residents of west Washoe Valley. NDF staff has worked closely with many of these residents over the years and has offered conservation crews and natural resource specialists as part of the recovery team.”

We crunched the numbers: Liability for Little Valley Fire could be big

Bunny Ranch owner's home destroyed in Little Valley Fire, he blames the state

The estimated market value of the 23 homes destroyed ranged from $542,000 to $3.8 million, according to a previous Reno Gazette-Journal analysis of data obtained from the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District.

The data suggested the State of Nevada could face significant liability because the blaze sparked from a controlled burn. The fire consumed multimillion-dollar homes as large as 11,000 square feet. It also burned at least three homes built in the 1930s and one home built in 1910.

Thirteen homes were destroyed on Franktown Road. Other homes were located on Old Ranch Road, Lake Vista road and JS Bar Ranch Road.

The fire prompted crews to evacuate the area, but residents have since been allowed to return to their neighborhoods to assess the damage of their homes.

Check with RGJ for more updates as they become available.

Marcella Corona covers breaking news for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Contact her at 775-788-6340, email her at mcorona@rgj.com or follow her on Twitter at @Marcella_Anahi or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Marcella.Anahi