LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — One inmate at the High Desert State Prison has been treated for heat-related illness in recent days, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.
In an email sent to Channel 13 Wednesday, a Department of Corrections spokesperson stated the inmate was treated by medical staff at the facility on Sunday — the same day that Las Vegas recorded a record high temperature of 120 degrees.
This comes a day after we told you about reports of possible unhealthy conditions inside High Desert State Prison, which is about 40 minutes northwest of Las Vegas.
Families of inmates tell Channel 13 that cooling systems at the prison have not been working — or are not being utilized at all — and that prisoners have faced dangerously high temperatures inside the facility during what has been a historic heat wave in Southern Nevada.
WATCH: Families tell us they fear for loved ones inside High Desert State Prison amid record heat:
A Nevada Department of Corrections official on Monday said in an email that supplies to help cool the prison down had been ordered, but that a long-term solution was also needed.
That same official said a portable misting system was scheduled to be delivered to the facility before the end of the day on Wednesday, along with "77 five-gallon igloo water coolers with ice."
The email also stated that 28 industrial fans have been "issued" for the prison and a pair of portable swamp coolers with "7,800 square-foot cooling capacity."
The department, according to the email, is in the process of transferring over 150 offenders to other facilities in order to "facilitate closure of one of the affected units" inside High Desert.
This is a developing story.
