LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Damaging floodwaters that swept through Mt. Charleston over the weekend destroyed roads, washed out trails and left many residents without any way to leave their homes.
Chief Bryan O'Neil with the Incident Management Team on the mountain says crews are continuing assessments of damage in the area. As of lunch time on Tuesday, they had monitored over 100 structures for damage.
As conversations with residents continues, several officials say the most requested item is water. A representative for the Las Vegas Water District says they distributed 600 gallon-bottles yesterday and since increased, distributing an additional 800 bottles Tuesday.
"After 24 hours, we still have no life safety issues," Jason Douglas, assistant fire chief, later indicated. This means no one died or was hurt as a result of the storms as of Tuesday afternoon.
Douglas said there were 50 people evacuated over the weekend and that no one was currently trapped or hurt. Residents did need escorts from emergency responders at some points over the weekend, but Douglas notes that water and debris on roadways have decreased and movement around the area is easier for residents.
The spokesman continued, saying the boil water notice will remain in effect for several days as workers remain in the assessment phase, not the restoration phase.
The Tropical Stormy Hilary storm system dropped between 6-8 inches of rain in Kyle and Lee canyons over the weekend.
Monday morning, Kyle Canyon Road was shut down and it remained closed on Tuesday as officials assessed the damage and began an urgent repair effort.
In addition to "significant damage" done to Kyle Canyon Road, officials estimate 2,000 feet of pavement on Echo Canyon Road was wiped out by the flooding, according to Clark County.
Clark County officials dispatched an incident management team and Nevada Task Force 1 to the area to support the recovery effort on the mountain, a county spokesperson stated Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the united States Forest Service said during the briefing Tuesday that hundreds of people got off the mountain safely after the service issues an immediate closure in the area. She says the rain created a "catastrophic" incident and the closure was key to getting ahead of safety problems.
Shannon Gregory, director of operations at NV Energy, says the utility company has energized about 25% of their load, including important services like the USFS fire station and internet communications.
He called their current work that of a "completely unprecedented response" indicating that issuing a precise timeline for full restoration right now would be difficult.
Gregory did say that Rainbow Loop would hopefully be energized late tonight, or maybe early tomorrow. next, the old town area where more debris was in the way of their poles. Then, workers will move on to Echo Loop to finish evaluations and repairs.
In Rainbow Loop, a creek running into a river caused their poles to lean or be taken down.
Right now, the top priority for transportation officials is fixing State Route 157 as more than a mile of Kyle Canyon Road around Rainbow Canyon was wiped out. Crews have brought in 40,000 tons of material to get a temporary single lane open for residents and emergency responders.
