The Hawk Fire destroyed dozens of homes in Reno’s North Valleys and forced thousands of people to evacuate last month.
For some Spanish-speaking residents, the experience raised questions about how emergency information is delivered and what happens when language or access to technology becomes a barrier.
Luisa Paniagua was at work in Carson City when the fire approached her home in Stead.
Her brother called her on video to show her the smoke. Paniagua rushed home to her 10-year-old son. She tried to protect their mobile home by watering around the house and on the roof and turning off the electricity.
Then a police officer arrived and told them to evacuate.
Paniagua loaded her son, two dogs and two cats into the car. Before leaving, she also drove around the neighborhood to check on elderly neighbors.
One neighbor was receiving emergency alerts on his phone but didn’t understand what they meant, Paniagua said. She translated the messages for him and told him they needed to leave immediately.
“Maybe English isn’t his strong suit, and the message wasn’t sent to him in his language,” she said in Spanish.
As she left, Paniagua said the smoke became so thick she could barely see.
“I still can’t understand how so much damage happened in just one day,” she said.
About half of Paniagua’s mobile home was destroyed. The rest was heavily damaged by smoke and firefighting water.
Paniagua said she didn’t have insurance on the mobile home because she couldn’t afford the policy.
Getting help after the fire has also been a challenge.
Paniagua spent days calling different agencies and filling out forms to get help. But she said all the forms were in English.
She also said much of the information she encountered wasn’t available in Spanish.
“That’s been my experience in the Hispanic community, not only that they don’t offer us information in Spanish, which is our first language,” she said.
Paniagua’s experience comes as questions are raised about emergency communication during the Hawk Fire.
The family of Francisco Lopez, one of three people injured in the fire, told KUNR they never received an evacuation alert. Lopez suffered severe burns, and his partner’s 83-year-old aunt later died from her injuries.
All spoke Spanish.
Alexandra Acosta Martel, another resident who had to evacuate, said she did receive emergency notifications. But the messages didn’t provide enough detail.
“Yes, I received the notifications, but they didn’t say the specific area. The information they gave wasn’t very specific,” Acosta Martel said.
Acosta Martel said there’s another issue: people who don’t have cellphones.
“I have a neighbor who speaks English and he doesn’t have a cellphone. He found out from other neighbors what was happening,” she said.
Local officials say they use several ways to communicate with residents during emergencies.
Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue said it maintains a Spanish-language Facebook page and, during the Hawk Fire, worked with Spanish-speaking public information officers from the Great Basin Team.
Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue said it doesn’t currently have a Spanish-speaking public information officer.
Reno Police spokesperson Hunter Mercurio told KUNR the department sees room for improvement in its bilingual emergency communications.
“Looking back on that, I think we need to improve on that 100%,” he said.
For Paniagua, the issue goes beyond whether a particular alert arrives.
She said people need information they can understand during an emergency and afterward.
“I think that not only as a Hispanic woman, but as a human being, we should have some kind of information that’s easier for those affected to understand, during the emergency and after the emergency,” she said.
Paniagua is now staying with friends as she works to rebuild her life.
She said she hopes neighbors can help one another recover.
Paniagua has also set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of rebuilding after the fire.
