Rapid growth has caused the Cottonwood Peak Fire to cover more than 64,000 acres as of Tuesday night, more than doubling in size since the day before, according to an update from federal officials.

Though firefighters are working around the clock to tame the flames that have been burning since Friday near Tuscarora in Elko County, containment remains at 4 percent, according to a Bureau of Land Management, Elko District media release.

The number of personnel combating the blaze has also increased from the last reported 478. The BLM said there were 717 personnel involved.

The “critical fire weather” has been an uphill battle for firefighters and Tuesday proved to be the same, according to the release, with the fire advancing “as fast as a mile an hour,” at times. As a result, “the fire is

See Full Page