UPDATE: A fire on the roof of Catus Jack's Senator Casino in downtown Carson City this morning is believed to have been caused by a bird's nest that touched electrical wiring, fire officials said.
The fire, reported shortly after 8 a.m. forced evacuation of the casino, located at 420 North Carson Street. The fire did not penetrate the famed Howdy sign, but did ignite and smolder around an electrical box which seeped into the roof, said Carson City Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Bero.
"There was a nest in the electrical box that isolated and some smoldering through the electrical chase," Bero said. No injuries were reported.
Cactus Jack's technicians and the Carson City Fire Department were able to isolate the affected circuit so that power through the rest of the casino could be restored. The casino is back open for business.
A passerby alerted casino staff that they saw smoke coming from the roof, said Roger Hopkins, assistant manager of Cactus Jack's.
"They told us there was smoke, we called the fire department and everyone got out safely," said Hopkins.
Bero said there was a fire inside the sign about 25 years ago. This time, however, the sign was spared a water flush because the fire was not inside and firefighters were able to contain the fire to the electrical box and an area surrounding it.
However, because it was an electrical fire, there was danger of it spreading elsewhere so there was water used and the electricity to the casino was cut off as firefighters worked to save the roof of the building, he added.
According to AroundCarson.com, Howdy the waver was repainted as part of a remodel in 2010.
Carson Street was closed for a time and reopened at about 9:12 a.m.