Copyright 2006 DR Partners d/b/a Las Vegas Review-Journal
All Rights Reserved
By BRIAN HAYNES
Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada)
Firefighters knocked down a pair of brush fires burning Monday outside of Las Vegas while dealing with near-record temperatures.
The largest blaze, called the First Creek fire, burned about 50 acres off state Route 159 near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, said Karla Norris, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman.
Investigators think the fire was started by people about 4 p.m. Sunday. Firefighters from the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Clark County battled the flames through the night and were expected to have it fully contained by late Monday.
Route 159 closed about 8 p.m. Sunday and reopened about 12 hours later.
The East Sloan fire started Monday about 6:30 a.m. near Interstate 15 south of the Las Vegas Valley, Norris said.
Firefighters attacked the flames on the ground and through the air because the fire was near structures, she said. The fire burned about 32 acres before firefighters got it under control about 3 p.m., just as the day’s high temperature was recorded at McCarran International Airport.
The mercury at the airport rose to the 107-degree mark Monday, 1 degree short of the 10-year-old record for the day. The National Weather Service issued an excessive-heat warning for 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the valley Monday.
With the onset of triple-digit temperatures, an emergency summer day shelter for homeless men opened last week, more than a month ahead of schedule.
The Catholic Charities shelter was scheduled to run July 1 through Sept. 30, but temperatures well into the 100s persuaded organizers to open early, regional homeless coordinator Shannon West said.
At least 12 homeless people died last summer of environmental heat stress or a combination of factors that included environmental heat stress, according to Clark County coroner’s records.
Catholic Charities received a $99,649 grant this year from the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition through its Committee on Homelessness to open the air-conditioned shelter from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day at its campus on Las Vegas Boulevard at Foremaster Lane.
Money to pay for the extra month of services came from funds set aside for emergency shelter, West said.
The shelter has chairs, a television, a library, restrooms and showers.
Forecasts called for slightly cooler temperatures through the rest of the week, but triple-digit highs were expected until Friday.
Also, a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms existed later in the week.