(dailynewyorknews) – Firefighters on Friday imposed a destructive wildfire near Reno, Nevada, despite the concerns quickly turned to possible flooding from a storm imminent.

About 30 homes were destroyed in fires 3177 acres, was 65% contained Friday night, authorities said. Five of the seven houses and other buildings were damaged, the Washoe County Sheriff Mike Haley said.

“It was a long day and night,” said Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez. “Time is always our priority and extinguishing hot spots.”

Weather experts were asked to mark areas of potential danger of flooding after the fire that destroyed much of the vegetation landscape. The city was under surveillance flash floods on Friday night, with a maximum of one inch of rain expected.

Authorities are investigating a death due to fire in northern Washoe Valley, although it has not been determined if the death was related to the fire.

The fire forced the evacuation of 10,000 people, closed the main road and asked the governor to declare a state of emergency. He began to burn around 13 hours on Thursday.

Researchers believe they have identified the cause of the fire. A man approached Friday admitted bad throw ash, Haley said.

The man, who was not identified, “is very remorseful,” said Haley. The case was submitted to the District Attorney’s office, which will determine whether criminal charges will be filed.

Governor Brian Sandoval, who has declared a state of emergency, expressed his condolences to those who had lost their homes in the fire and praised the efforts of various agencies to begin the process of recovery and reconstruction.

“Family of Nevada joined,” he said.

A team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will arrive on Tuesday to conduct a damage assessment, Sandoval said.

Washoe County Manager Katy Simon predicts the loss of millions of dollars.

“It’s a devastating fire,” he said, adding: “We saw a great tragedy in the last 30 hours.”

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/20/us/nevada-fire/index.html?hpt=us_c2