Wild, feral, and menacing cattle of the McCullough Range near Searchlight, NV.
By Henry Brean and David Becker
Las Vegas Review-Journal
The wild remnants of one of southern Clark County's last cattle herds are now being cleared from the mountains between Henderson and Searchlight, but the work so far has not gone smoothly.
A crew of cowboys from Utah is gathering stray and feral cows from the McCullough Mountains under a contract with the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
Flint Wright, animal industry administrator for the department, said the operation started Friday and has no scheduled completion date. As of Monday, just 17 cows had been collected.
"They're essentially wild cattle, and it's going to take some time," Wright said.
The roundup hit a major snag Sunday, when a helicopter being used to find and chase cows crashed just off state Route 164 west of Searchlight.
On Tuesday, the wrecked helicopter and its pilot could still be found at a motel in the town 60 miles south of Las Vegas.
Richard Dick of Hutchinson, Kan., said he was hovering about 12 feet off the ground, trying to move a pair of stubborn bulls, when a gust of wind pushed his helicopter into a Joshua tree. The 1962-vintage Bell model 47G ended up on its side in pieces, but he walked away with bumps and bruises.
The pilot said it was his first domestic accident in 17,000 hours of flying, though he crashed three times in Vietnam.
When he climbed out the wreckage Sunday, Dick said, the bulls were just staring at him.
The cattle now being rounded up have roamed the range untended since 2006, when rancher Cal Baird relinquished his federal grazing permit and sold his water rights to the county to preserve habitat for the desert tortoise and other federally protected species.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, Baird moved most of his livestock from the 111,000-acre federal grazing allotment to Arizona, but a few stragglers were left behind.
For the past several years, officials say, those survivors and their unbranded descendants have been damaging springs and menacing people in the mountains and desert between Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95 south of the Las Vegas Valley.
BLM spokeswoman Kirsten Cannon said the animals are aggressive and "present a danger to the public recreating in the area."
Wright said: "We've had some complaints from people who were hunting deer and were run off by the cattle."
Baird could not be reached for comment.
Under Nevada law, unbranded stray or feral livestock are considered state property. The BLM has been asking the state to remove the unclaimed cattle from the McCullough Range for several years.
In 2013, the state rounded up and sold off approximately 30 animals, but an unknown number remain. Last year, the BLM counted about 40 unbranded cows spread across two wilderness areas west of Searchlight. Wright guessed there could 100 to 200 feral cows still out there.
He figures it would cost the state as much as $200,000 to try to collect that many animals. The Department of Agriculture has been "trying to get this deal cleaned up for a number of years," but it never seems to have the money or the resources, he said.
The animals are now being rounded up by Sun J Livestock, a ranching operation from Vernal, Utah. Wright said the ranchers aren't being paid directly, but they have plenty of incentive to do a thorough job.
"They get to keep the livestock," he said. "They'll get every cow they can."
White men must not be the only creatures who can't jump.
Fortunately for Steve Cooke, the desert tortoise doesn't have much of a vertical leap, either.
As chief of environmental services for the Nevada Department of Transportation, Cooke has the responsibility of ensuring the state's environment isn't damaged when a new roadway is constructed. So this month his focus is on the desert tortoise, a species more endangered - with apologies to Woody Harrelson's 1992 film character Billy Hoyle - than white men who CAN jump.
Cooke's role comes into play as Phase 1 of the 15-mile Boulder City bypass project gets under way on a short opening stretch of virgin land between the Foothills Drive exit on U.S. Highway 95 in south Henderson and where the new road will meet U.S. 95 to the southwest of Boulder City.
The 2.75-mile expanse soon will be enclosed by a fence during construction to keep the desert tortoise from plodding in. While the length might be somewhat daunting, not so the height.
Eighteen inches.
Eighteen inches of tightly meshed metal fence that will prevent even juvenile tortoises from crawling in.
"Because they're an endangered species, we have to take certain precautions to protect them," Cooke says. "They can't jump two feet."
The opening phase's environmental safety work extends beyond the desert tortoise to select desert plants in the area - at a combined protection/salvage cost of $1.5 million.
Before the first bulldozers roll in, a number of cactuses and yuccas have to be rolled out, replanted elsewhere, only to be returned as landscaping or erosion control when the opening phase of the bypass project is completed.
'IT'S NICE TO GET IT STARTED'
Make no mistake: Despite what you might read or hear about the fitness, financing and future of the bypass project's more contentious second phase - 12 additional miles of a four-lane, limited-access freeway that, if constructed, would permit motorists to skip driving through Boulder City - the first phase is being built.
Tentative completion date: late 2017 or early 2018. Or so hopes Tony Lorenzi, the state Transportation Department's project manager.
Seventy-five percent of the land has cleared right-of-way acquisition, with only three parcels left to be purchased through contentious condemnation in the courts. The full land acquisition is coming at a cost of $20 million to $30 million, according to documents provided by the transportation agency.
As acquisition wraps up, the second "package" of the opening phase begins, first with the environmental safeguards and followed in late summer or early fall by the start of construction on a frontage road and numerous utility relocations - everything from moving towers belonging to the Western Area Power Administration to relocating conduits of the Colorado River Commission, Southwest Gas, NV Energy, Las Vegas Water District, AT&T, Cox Communications, etc.
"Literally a dozen, if not more," Lorenzi says as he ticks off the more notable names.
The relocation of the utilities and the construction of the frontage road is a 12- to 18-month segment of the project, estimated to cost between $20 million and $22 million.
From there, construction begins on the mainline - or new roadway - with Package 3 going from Foothills Drive to the Railroad Pass interchange, with the mainline being built under the existing railroad bridge, and followed by Package 4, which is the extension of the mainline from the interchange to U.S. 95.
Package 5, the construction of the mainline as an underpass to a reinforced, at-grade Railroad Pass bridge, likely would be built at the same time as Package 3.
The combined cost of the mainline construction would come in at between $90 million and $110 million, bringing the total price tag for Phase 1 to somewhere between $110 million and $140 million.
The state transportation agency, which gets its funding from the federal government and a percentage of state gasoline taxes, is paying for the project.
One of the highlights of Phase 1 will be an artistic history lesson on the construction of Hoover Dam that will be chiseled into a 1,200-foot-long retaining wall along the route. The rendering will start with the migration of the '31ers to Southern Nevada, to the pouring of the dam's forms, to the dangerous work of the dam's high-scalers, to a rendering of the completed project.
"I feel really good about this getting started," Lorenzi says. "There's been a lot of anticipation.
"There's been some delays for multiple reasons" - funding and right-of-way issues, construction logistics - "but it's nice to get it started."
PHASE 2 CONTENTIOUS
Lorenzi and Cooke recently appeared at an open house at Boulder City High School to explain the Nevada Department of Transportation's work on the initial phase of the two-phase project.
Most of the community's concerns, however, regarded Phase 2, the approximately 12-mile stretch that will connect the southwest portion of Phase 1 at U.S. 95 to the recently completed interchange at state Route 172, the road to Hoover Dam.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada is developing Phase 2, with the likelihood of establishing the uninterrupted 12-mile stretch as a toll road to cover the construction funding of between $330 million and $350 million. Early discussion said the toll could start at $2.25 per passenger vehicle, with the price going up for multi-axle trucks.
A 2012 study announced at the meeting said 44 percent of drivers would choose to use the toll road, with the remainder of motorists continuing to drive through Boulder City.
Some attendees were upset at the prospect of almost half of the area's current traffic being diverted from businesses in the nongaming community, while others saw the need to reduce city traffic, which can become heavy with travelers going between Las Vegas and Phoenix during the spring and summer months.
But with funding of Phase 2 yet to be determined and construction still years off, if it happens at all, there's plenty of time to ease concerns and massage egos.
Meanwhile, Phase 1 is being built. And even if there is no Phase 2, there will be a fresh stretch of roadway that will connect to U.S. 93 into Boulder City via a high-speed flyover and to U.S. 95 via graded ramps.
"Even though it's a short distance, there's still a huge amount of work to get (to completion)," Cooke, the state transportation agency's lead environmentalist, says as tortoise fencing goes up this month.
"Once things start," Lorenzi chimes in, "we build a lot of momentum quickly.
"There's nothing I like better than to see something getting built," he adds. "It's progress. The public is getting what it's paying for."
Route 66 Ambassador Terry Kafides, foreground applauds as 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt unveils new San Bernardino County Route 66 signs along National Trails Highway. The county has the longest continuous paved stretch of the original highway in the country, and is beginning a project to post it with county highway signs. (JAMES QUIGG, DAILY PRESS)
Staff Reports
Victor Valley Daily Press
ORO GRANDE • In an effort to draw attention to the High Desert’s claim to the legendary Route 66, San Bernardino County is moving forward with a new historical sign marker program.
Friday marked the 85th anniversary of the storied thoroughfare, and 1st District Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt used the occasion to unveil the first sign marker at a dedication ceremony on National Trails Highway in Oro Grande, just north of the Mojave River Bridge.
“Marking County Route 66 is one of several steps I am planning to celebrate, promote and protect this road and to make county highways more user-friendly,” Mitzelfelt said in a statement.
More than 250 miles of the iconic highway runs the length of San Bernardino County from Needles through Upland. More signs will be placed at various intervals along the route, starting with heading north of Oro Grande onto Main Street in Barstow. The sign program will then head east on Interstate 40, north on Nebo Street near Barstow, east on National Trails Highway and north on Goffs Road to its junction with Highway 95.
Cultural and historic sites along this alignment include the City of Barstow and the communities of Daggett, Newberry Springs, Ludlow, Amboy, Cadiz, Chambless, Essex and Goffs, as well as the Mojave National Preserve. This alignment can be expanded to include additional portions of or the entire Route 66 at a later date. The remainder of the signs on this first leg will be installed by the end of December.
Mitzelfelt is contributing $45,000 for the program through some of the last of his office’s discretionary funds, with that pot of money no longer unavailable to supervisors. Mitzelfelt said he initiated the marker program after seeing its effectiveness in other counties.
The county’s Route Marker Program is the first to be added in the state since 1983, according to Mitzelfelt’s office. The California County Route Marker Program was established in 1958 to mark county routes of major importance and public interest that are constructed and marked to sufficient safety standards. San Bernardino County is the 43rd of California’s 58 counties to participate in the program.
The small town of Searchlight in Southern Nevada moved another step toward becoming a big energy center Thursday with the announcement of a deal by NV Energy to buy power from a big solar plant planned for the community.
Searchlight, on U.S. 95 between Boulder City and the California town of Needles, is already proposed to be the site of a big wind energy farm to be operated by Duke Energy. With 161 turbines producing 370 megawatts of power on public land totaling 26,000 acres, that project could serve 100,000 homes.
NV Energy and American Capital Energy announced Thursday they have entered into a long-term power purchase agreement for the sale of energy produced from ACE's 20-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant to be constructed in the desert near Searchlight, 55 miles south of Las Vegas.
The project, expected to be completed by mid-2010, will be larger than the 14-MW photovoltaic plant completed in 2007 at Nellis Air Force Base. The Nellis plant, toured by President Obama on a recent visit to Las Vegas, is the largest photovoltaic facility currently operating in the United States, NV Energy said.
At 20 megawatts, the Searchlight plant will serve about 4,000 homes, said Tom Anderson, ACE's director of Southwest Business Development. In comparison, Acciona's Boulder City solar plant generates 64 megawatts. It uses a different technology in which concentrated sunlight heats a liquid.
"This is another major step in our commitment to bringing power from renewable resources to the citizens of Nevada," Michael Yackira, NV Energy president and chief executive, said in a statement on Thursday's deal. "Our state is blessed with abundant solar, geothermal and wind resources, and expanding the use of these resources through power purchases of this kind or direct investment in renewable projects is one of our top priorities."
Terms of the power purchase agreement, which is subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada, were not disclosed.
The agreement will assist NV Energy in meeting Nevada’s renewable energy standard, which was recently increased by the Legislature. The standard now requires that 25 percent of energy be generated by renewable resources and energy efficiency and conservation programs by 2025.
The companies said all of the electricity output from the plant will go to customers of NV Energy’s southern service territory.
Construction of the project is expected to create more than 120 jobs and will further develop Nevada’s burgeoning renewable energy workforce, the companies said.
"American Capital Energy is excited about the Searchlight Solar I solar PV project. We are honored to have been selected to work with NV Energy to deliver clean, renewable solar energy to Southern Nevada," Tom Hunton, CEO of Massachusetts-based ACE, said in a statement.
In a presentation earlier this year to the Searchlight Town Advisory Board, ACE officials said the plant is planned for 215 acres of private land 1 mile northwest of U.S. 95 and state Highway 164 headed toward Nipton, Calif.
Anderson said the cost of the project isn't being disclosed and that the deal with NV Energy will help the company obtain financing for the project.
The company plans to work on construction permitting this year and start building the plant in early 2010, assuming the power-purchase deal is approved by the Public Utilities Commission.
ACE, he said, has built about 20 energy projects while its executives combined have built hundreds of such projects.
He said ACE has been working with the Searchlight community and feels it has support there for the project.
"NV Energy is becoming one of the more progressive renewable energy utilities," he added.
Snow blankets the Red Rock Canyon National Park 15 miles west of Las Vegas.
School district calls off classes for first time in 30 years, flights canceled
By Sun Staff Las Vegas Sun
A rare snowstorm blanketed the Las Vegas Valley on Wednesday, delaying flights, causing widespread fender-benders and canceling events. As much as 8 inches of snow fell in parts of the valley, forecasters said this morning.
The rarities continued Wednesday night with the Clark County School District's announcement that students are getting a snow day today. It's the first snow day for Clark County students since 1979, when a storm dropped 9.9 inches of snow in January that year.
With ice and snow on the roads, and district buses responsible for transporting more than 80,000 students, closing school was the prudent move, Superintendent Walt Rulffes said.
Bus drivers, teachers and other classroom employees will also have the day off. Administrators, 12-month employees and office staff are expected to be at work, since some students might show up at school and require adult assistance, Rulffes explained in an e-mail to staff. In a statement this morning, the school district said all school-based food service personnel, food service truck drivers and warehouse employees are not to report for work. However, all other food service personnel shall report for work or contact their supervisor.
School Board President Mary Beth Scow said she planned to spend the day watching holiday movies and baking cookies with her grandchildren, who will have the day off from school. She said she didn't envy the teachers who will have a hard enough time keeping students' attention on Friday, the last day before the two-week winter break.
A makeup day might be scheduled later in the school year. Additional information on school closures will be posted on the district's Web site at ccsd.net.
The National Weather Service finally lifted a winter storm warning at 6 a.m. today. The weather service said its Las Vegas office had reported 3.6 inches of snow by 9:50 p.m. Wednesday. And there was a report of 8 inches measured in Henderson shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday.
The weather service said the main low pressure area was centered over northern Clark County at 3:30 a.m. today and was moving slowly east.
Heavy snow had already fallen over much of the warning area and another 2 to 4 inches would be possible above the 2,500-foot level elevations through early morning, the weather service said.
The weather service this morning urged travelers to take with them warm clothing, an extra flashlight, food and water in their vehicles in case of an emergency and to be alert for slippery spots on roads.
The warning area included Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City. An advisory from the weather service Wednesday afternoon called the snow event "extremely rare."
The 3.6 inches of snow through late Wednesday at the weather service office two miles southwest of McCarran International Airport set a record for the most snow ever in the month of December in Las Vegas since the beginning of official records in 1937, the weather service said. The office is the official recording station for weather in the Las Vegas Valley.
Measurable snow has only fallen on four other occasions since 1937 in December, the weather service said: 2 inches on Dec. 15, 1967; 0.4 inches on Dec. 5, 1972; 1 inch on Dec. 6, 1998; and 1.3 inches on Dec. 30, 2003.
Not all areas of the Las Vegas Valley had snow accumulations because a mix of rain and snow fell much of the time. Also, warm ground temperatures kept the snow from sticking in some areas, the weather service said.
Downtown Las Vegas and the northern parts of the Strip saw snow, but little to no accumulation, the weather service said.
However, 1.7 inches of snow was measured on The Strip at the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada" sign. Areas of heaviest snow measured between 3 to 6 inches, with local amounts of 8-plus inches in Henderson, the weather service said.
Flights at McCarran resume
The heavy snow caused numerous delays at McCarran International Airport on Wednesday, but airport officials announced this morning that arriving and departing flights operations resumed around 6 a.m.
While McCarran didn't close overnight, low visibility caused by the snow had stopped activity from late Wednesday afternoon until early this morning. The airport is the seventh busiest in the country.
Airport officials said the snow that accumulated overnight on McCarran's runways is melting under the morning sunlight and each of the airport's three runways is open for flight operations.
Because of the poor weather condition Wednesday, many airlines cancelled flights and the Federal Aviation Administration issued a national ground stop that temporarily kept most aircraft bound for Las Vegas from departing.
Travelers who want to fly out of the airport today should contact their air carrier to find out their flight status, airport officials said. Those expecting arriving passengers should also contact the appropriate airlines directly, officials said.
Flight information can also be obtained at www.mccarran.com.
Texans stranded at airport
More than 100 residents of a tiny Texas town who flew to Las Vegas last week paid for by the Las Vegas Convention and Tourism Authority remained stranded at the airport Wednesday night.
Men in cowboy hats slept next to each other near the McCarran exits after finding out their 3 p.m. flight to Cranfills Gap, Texas, was postponed until 9 a.m. Thursday morning.
"We thought we would be able to get back to the Gap and enjoy the sunshine," said Laura Rose, a Cranfills Gap resident. "Didn't think that we'd end up in the desert in the snow."
The Las Vegas tourism group paid for nearly half of the town's 350 residents to visit Las Vegas for five days as part of a marketing campaign to promote the city.
Power outage
Along with the snow, NV Energy reported power outages Wednesday evening along Desert Inn Road, near Maryland Parkway, Mohave Avenue, Pecos Road, Eastern Avenue, Boulder Highway and Seneca Street; Rancho Drive and Valley View Boulevard, Rancho Drive and Washington Avenue; Lake Mead Parkway and Martin Luther King Boulevard; and Washington Avenue and Martin Luther King Blvd.
NV Energy said crews were working to fix the outages. It was unclear what caused the outages.
Police were directing traffic along Maryland Parkway to Pecos Road due to stoplight outages.
Traffic accidents numerous
Streets around the valley were becoming slick and slushy through the evening and into the morning.
Heavy traffic and snow-covered slick streets made the uphill climb troublesome on Eastern Avenue in Henderson, leading to heavy congestion Wednesday night.
The city of Henderson road crews were continuing today to focus efforts to clear snow off Eastern Avenue from Intestate 215 south to the Anthem community, according to Cindy Herman, Henderson's public information manager. Herman said residents are asked to remove abandoned vehicles to assist with the clean-up efforts.
"Commuters along Eastern Avenue should use caution as the weather, change in grade and abandoned vehicles are contributing to hazardous travel conditions. If possible, Anthem residents are asked to avoid the area and find alternate routes for morning commutes," Herman said in a statement released this morning.
The Nevada Department of Transportation announced this morning that Interstate 15 is still closed south of Las Vegas in each direction and is expected to open by noon between Primm and Baker.
The I-15 southbound lanes are closed at St. Rose Parkway because of a truck accident and diesel spill at mile post 27, according to Robert McKenzie, NDOT public information officer.
U.S. Highway 95's southbound lanes are closed at Railroad Pass to Nevada State Route 163 because of snow and icy conditions, McKenzie said. State routes 161, 164 and 165 are closed to traffic.
U.S. Highway 93's north and south lanes to Boulder City are now open again. State Routes 160 and 159 are open to traffic with no controls, McKenzie said.
He said chains, snow tires or four-wheel drive vehicle restrictions are in place for State Route 156 to Mount Charleston. State Route 157 to Mount Charleston is open only to residents until further notice, McKenzie said.
The Nevada Highway Patrol and Metro Police said there had been numerous fender-benders on wet roads, but no serious injuries through Wednesday evening.
As snow continued to pile up, so did the number of car crashes. Metro Police have been working several accidents since the snow began to fall.
One included a pickup truck that had rolled over about 7:15 p.m. in the southbound lane in the 2300 block of Green Valley Parkway outside of the Wild Horse Estate Apartments. The pickup truck knocked down two small trees before it came to a stop in front of the street light. The vehicle rolled once and was on its side, perpendicular to the traffic, blocking the lanes.
At 7:55 p.m., Metro officers were working 26 accidents with four injuries, a hit-and-run, nine other traffic accidents and 11 traffic problems, which range from a stalled car to traffic light outages. The number of traffic incidents decreased into the night as fewer cars were on the roads.
Metro updates its traffic site every 15 minutes with accidents and traffic problems officers are currently working. Officer Jay Rivera said the most common accident officers are seeing involve cars colliding into other vehicles from behind, mostly at traffic lights.
There had been no fatalities through Wednesday evening, he said.
“People are use to following at a certain distance in dry conditions and are following at that same distance in these wet conditions and then rear-ending other cars," Rivera said.
"People aren't used to the snow," Officer Barbara Morgan said. "You need to drive the way conditions dictate."
Metro Police reported 18 wrecks between 2:15 and 3:25 p.m., including two hit-and-runs.
"People are driving silly," Morgan said. "They need to just slow down."
The Nevada Highway Patrol reported two crashes in the Henderson area during the same time frame — one at U.S. 95 and Wagon Wheel Drive and another at U.S. 95 and Horizon Drive. Additionally, U.S. 95 to Searchlight was closed beginning at Railroad Pass.
Motorists traveling to California and outside the Las Vegas Valley were finding major delays on Interstate 15 and other highways.
The Nevada Department of Transportation reported the highway was closed in both direction between Primm and Baker, Calif., because of snowy weather. Officials also said U.S. 95 was closed from the California line to U.S. 93 because of a traffic accident, and State Road 163, State Road 164 and State Road 165 were closed.
NDOT will be deicing bridges and ramps on U.S. 95 and I-15 during the night.
Blue Diamond Highway (SR 160) was closed and motorists were advised to detour using U.S. 95 north to SR 160 south to access Pahrump. Chains, snow tires, or four-wheel drive vehicle restrictions are in place for Mountain Springs and Mount Charleston.
North Las Vegas officials were urging motorists to stay off the streets.
“Motorists should slow down and be aware of their surroundings to avoid slamming on the breaks or jerking the steering wheel on frozen roads,” public works director Qiong Liu said. “These actions could cause a vehicle to veer or slide out of control, posing a risk to the driver and other vehicles on the road.”
The Nevada Highway Patrol was preparing to close Interstate 515 southbound at Railroad Pass, blocking traffic into Boulder City for all but Boulder City residents, Police Chief Thomas Finn said. In addition, traffic along U.S. 93 from Hoover Dam into Boulder City was to be diverted, Finn said.
Traffic will be routed onto Lake Shore Road and through Henderson to get to the Las Vegas area, National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz said. Finn said Boulder City residents would be allowed through.
The Regional Transportation Commission has closed a portion of its 402 Route from Nevada State College to Boulder City, and officials cautioned that other bus routes that serve higher elevations may be detoured or delayed as well.
"It can't make it to Boulder City because of the road closures," spokesman Tracy Bower said.
A change of scenery
As Daniel Florez, a pharmacy employee at the CVS Pharmacy on Maryland Parkway and Silverado Ranch Boulevard, scraped a couple of inches of snow off the top of his car using a notebook, he said the snow was a nice change from the usual scenery.
"We were staring out the window all day saying 'I hope it sticks, I hope it sticks,'" he said.
He was, however, a little worried about the drive to his home in the Blue Diamond Road and Durango Road area that he would have to make at the end of his shift.
"It's a little scary out there," he said. "I don't know, Las Vegas people aren't used to this. I hope they can handle it."
J.T. Trainer, a Silverado-area resident who was leaving CVS as the snow piled up, said having grown up in Alaska and in Washington, where his dad used to take him out to do donuts on the snow-covered roads, he was not so much worried about himself, but was concerned about how other people were driving.
"I've seen three car accidents just on my way home from work," he said.
Two were on the freeway and another was when someone was trying to make a turn and slid into a pole, he said.
The weather prompted the city of Henderson to close city offices at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The city announced this morning that offices will resume regular operations today, however, recreation centers won't open until 8 a.m. The Henderson Safekey and Teen Scene sites are closed because of the Clark County school closures.
Outside the Summerlin Library on Dec. 17, Becker Middle School students Aaron Zambrano and Emre Keskintepe were holding up plastic bags collecting snowflakes.
The two 13-year-olds were just like thousands of other local residents taking in the rare snowstorm that struck the Las Vegas Valley.
“They’re pretty big flakes,” Aaron said. “We’re trying to have a snowball fight.”
Emre said he had seen snow before, but never like this in Summerlin.
“It’s weird to see snow covering the palm trees,” Emre said.
At the Boca Park shopping center near the corner of Rampart Boulevard and Charleston Boulevard, Casey Greenberg and her friend Thomas Jokerst watched the falling snow while having dinner at the Kona Grill.
“I think it’s amazing,” said Jokerst, a resident of San Francisco who was in town visiting friends. “I haven’t seen snow in like 15 years.”
“I’ve lived here for 17 years and this is freakish,” Greenberg said. “It snows every once in awhile, but only an inch or so. Nothing like this.”
Clark County has five daytime warming stations open through Friday. The locations are Catholic Charities (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 1501 N. Las Vegas Blvd.; Salvation Army (6 a.m. - 7 p.m.), 33 W. Owens Ave.; Cambridge Recreation Center (7 a.m. to 6 p.m.), 3930 Cambridge St.; Dula Gym (7 a.m. - 6 p.m.), 441 E. Bonanza Road; and Valley View Rec Center (7 a.m. - 6 p.m.), 500 Harris St. in Henderson. The area’s night shelters are Catholic Charities; the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, 480 W Bonanza Road; Salvation Army; and Shade Tree (for women only).
Forecast and snow reports
The snow is expected to end from west to east this morning and clouds will decrease this afternoon, according to the weather service's hazardous outlook this morning for Southern Nevada.
Another storm system will bring gusty winds into the area Friday and into Saturday but won't produce as much precipitation as the current storm, forecasters said.
Still another storm will arrive in the area on Monday or Tuesday, bringing another chance of precipitation and gusty winds.
Here is a summary of snow reports from Clark County from the weather service:
• 5:15 p.m., a weather service employee reported 0.1 inch of snow was sticking on the Strip on unpaved surfaces by the Circus Circus Casino.
• 5:15 p.m., 5 inches of snow was measured by a weather service employee near Wagon Wheel and U.S. Highway 95 about five miles west northwest of Boulder City.
• 5:30 p.m., around an inch of snow was sticking on the grass by the MGM Grand as well as on nonpaved surfaces by the Luxor, according to a weather service employee.
• 5:30 p.m., 11 inches of snow was measured at Mount Charleston by a co-op weather observer.
• 6:23 p.m., 3 inches of snow was measured in Henderson by the wife of a weather service employee.
• 6:40 p.m., 4 inches of snow was measured by a weather service employee in south Las Vegas.
• 8:34 p.m., 2.5 inches of snow was measured by a trained spotter near the Boulder Station Casino.
• 8:40 p.m., between 3 and 5 inches of snow was measured in Henderson near Heather and College by a spotter. The spotter also reported several separate vehicles crashed into walls along Interstate 215.
• 8:54 p.m., 7 inches of snow was measured in a residential neighborhood of Henderson near Black Mountain, around 2,700 feet in elevation.
• 8:58 p.m., 1.6 inches of snow was measured by a spotter near Desert Inn and Hollywood.
• 9:08 p.m., 8 inches of snow was measured in the far southeast part of Henderson by a weather service employee near Wagon Wheel and U.S. 95.
• 9:50 p.m., 3.6 inches of snow had fallen at the weather service office in Las Vegas on Dean Martin Road.
• 10 p.m., 6 inches was recorded by a trained weather spotter three miles south-southeast of Henderson.
• 10:30 p.m., 1.7 inches of snow was measured on the Strip at the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada" Sign.
-- Sun and Home News staffers contributing to this report were Dave Clark, Amanda Finnegan, Jeff Pope, Cydney Cappello, Kyle Hansen, Cara McCoy, Jean Reid Norman, Mary Manning, Ryan Greene, Ashley Livingston, Cassie Tomlin, Ray Brewer, Steve Silver, Tim Thiele, Evelio Contreras, Emily Richmond, Jeff O’Brien, Steve Green, Tim Richardson and Dave Toplikar.
The motorist killed during last night's flash flooding near the Colorado River was a 51-year-old woman from Big River, according to San Bernardino County coroner's officials.
Rosemary Sebring Genc was pronounced dead soon after being pulled from her 1990 gold Honda Accord. A county road worker said he saw her drive into a flooded area at 9:15 p.m. Monday near Rio Vista Road and Tenaya Court. The water pushed the car to the edge of the roadway where it overturned in a wash, trapping the woman underwater, coroner's investigators said.
Flash flooding in the same general region also closed portions of Highway 95 from Vidal Junction south to Interstate 10 in Blythe. At 3 a.m., heavy rain had limited visibility to 20 feet in some places, according to the California Highway Patrol website.
With forecasts of possible thunderstorms and flash flooding through this weekend, officials point to the apparent drowning death as an example of the dangers of driving through floodwaters.
"Turn around. Don't drown," says the written warning issued Tuesday.
"Despite repeated warnings, some people continue to risk their lives by driving through running water," county analyst Roni Edis said in a written statement. "Be aware of flood hazards, no matter where you live."
CRASH AFTERMATH: A CHP officer inspects the wreckage of a small experimental aircraft that crashed on I-40 near U.S. 95 Tuesday morning.
NEEDLES - A 68-year-old Bullhead City pilot of an experimental aircraft was killed instantly when the plane and a vehicle collided near Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 95 Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Associated Press reported that the pilot, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was flying low off I-40 where he had made an emergency landing when the westbound vehicle slammed into the plane.
However, the CHP press release contained no information about an emergency landing.
That report states that at 8:05 a.m., the “pilot was flying his aircraft very low, just above motor vehicle traffic. As the pilot approached Interstate 40, he made an easterly turn flying just above the westbound traffic lanes.”
Then, according to the press release, for an unknown reason, the pilot flew his Titan Tornado even lower and into the path of a Ford Fusion, driven by Jessia Erin Buckley, 26, of Riverside, Calif.
The aircraft collided head-on with the Ford, according to the press release and the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel.
The motor vehicle driver reportedly sustained minor injuries to her right arm, but refused medical treatment.
According to the CHP press release, traffic on westbound Interstate 40 was closed for several hours and traffic was being diverted around the crash site via the U.S. 95 offramp.
Witnesses told the Federal Aviation Administration that the plane was taking off and was about three feet off the ground when the car slammed into it, spokesman Ian Gregor said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident, he said.
Storm left stores flooded, drivers stranded, mother and son hurt by lightningBy MAGGIE LILLIS Las Vegas REVIEW-JOURNAL
Boys play in floodwaters Thursday after a storm dumped varying amounts of rain over the southern valley.
After weeks of do-nothing clouds and teasing humidity, the valley was pounded by a storm cell Thursday that forced road closures, stranded motorists and left a Henderson boy and his mother injured by a lightning strike.
More than 3 inches of rain fell in some mountain areas, but only about 0.16 inches accumulated within the valley, the National Weather Service in Las Vegas reported.
Meteorologists at the weather service's offices experienced the brunt of the storm without some of their radar equipment, which was struck by lightning during the action.
But the heavy rain added only a few drops to the annual total, which now stands at 1.04 inches.
"Normally at this time of year we are at 2.92 inches. We are definitely below the average," said meteorologist Edan Lindamen.
The powerful storm swept across the southern part of the valley, flooding businesses and creating swift-water rescue situations for emergency responders in Henderson and elsewhere.
State Route 160 was closed for about an hour after 3.05 inches of rain fell near Mountain Springs. Backups also occurred on U.S. Highway 95 and on Boulder Highway, where some spots were under 2 feet of water and stranded motorists had to be rescued.
The storm didn't just make its mark with rising floodwaters and muddy debris.
A lightning strike in Henderson knocked a 4-year-old boy unconscious and left his mother with temporary numbness on one side of her body.
Henderson Deputy Fire Chief Steve Goble said the woman and her son were watching the rain from the front lawn of their home near Green Valley Parkway and Warm Springs Road when lightning struck nearby about 3:20 p.m.
Goble said the "ground surge" apparently knocked the boy out and caused the woman to experience some paralysis on one side of her body. But both of them "came out of it" as they were treated at the scene by paramedics, he said.
They were sent to the hospital for observation.
Henderson firefighters also rescued a 12-year-old boy from a wash near Patrick Lane and Stephanie Road. Goble said the boy was pulled from the water unharmed.
"The report was he was skateboarding down there," Goble said. "He was having a good old time, until the water came."
The Henderson Fire Department received several other reports of people in the water, but no other rescues were needed.
The storm also brought a flurry of reports of fallen trees, electrical fires and "four or five dozen stranded vehicles," Goble said. "It's been crazy."
Businesses also got caught up in the storm.
The Circle K convenience store and gas station near Tropicana Avenue and Andover Drive closed for a few hours when an inch of water crept inside. Employees said this has happened five or six times in the past as they swept about a foot of cloudy water around racks of potato chips and newspapers.
Officials with the Clark County Regional Flood Control District said their gauges reported almost 2 inches of rain falling within 30 to 40 minutes in areas near Henderson.
The weather service in Las Vegas said more storms are possible today. Conditions will start to dry out by the weekend, it said.
