Rain, lighting cause major problems in area
THE SIGN SAYS EVERYTHING- This was the site that greeted many valley motorists on Wednesday as they
tried to make their way around town. The storm which dumped over four inches of rain in a matter of hours,
led to extremely hazardous driving conditions as well as power outages and other weather related problems.
photo by Carlton McCasfin
by Mary Ann McNeill
Gazette Staff
PAHRUMP--The Nye County Commission meeting in
Tonopah Tuesday wasn't exciting at all but the weather
made up for it. Officials and others who had to travel to
Tonopah had a difficult time getting home because of a
severe storm that dumped a lot of water on the roadways,
causing damage and wash outs, especially in the north end
of Pahrump.
"The roads out there were pretty bad," Fire Chief Vern
Lofig said.
Members of the Pahrump Volunteer Fire Department
were up all night answering motorists' distress calls, fire
reports f?om lightning strikes, and electrical sparking from
wet lines and connections.
The fire department activated an emergency operations
center in conjunction with the county because of the on-
slaught of the storm. All of the fire department and emer-
gency volunteers were asked to be on standby because of the
severity of expected problems. Long reported that the north
end of Leslie Street was the most severly damaged.
"Leslie turned into a canal," he said. "All that water was
trying to get to the dry lake bed and that's the normal route
for it to take. This is just a precursor (of more severe
storms).
"We've been worrying about this for a while. We've
been trying to secure sand bags, water, food, medical sup-
plies, cots, blankets, etc. The agencies that provide these
things are reluctant to send them to you unless you're in the
middle of an on-going emergency situation." Long said the
town will have to purchase the suppliesand Assistant Fire
Chief Steve Duga was searchingthrough catalogs and other
sources Wednesday for prices and availability.
"Peggy (Warner. acting Pahrump town manager) is ac-
tively trying to find us a building in which to store supplies.'"
Long said.
"We probably need a half million sand bags," Long said.
"'That sounds like a lot but it's not very much when you look
at the big area we have to cover."
Long said all the services are cooperating to set up
emergency centers throughout Pahrump, such as the Com-
munity Center on Highway 160 and the Senior Centerwit's
great because ofthe kitchen availability. Saddle West, Days
Inn and the Charlotta Inn are participating with room avail-
ability for families who may become flooded out.
Bishop Steve Rainboit offered the Latter Day Saints
church on Wilson for an evacuation center. "That's a great
place," Long said, "because it's so high."
"We just talked to the county on the availability of school
buses if we need them to help evacuate people," Long said.
"They're good because they're high out of the water."
There were "7 or 8 reports of stranded motorists" and
several fire reports from lightning and electrical sparking
overnight Tuesday, but they "all proved to be only minor
problems," he said. The new Domino's Pizza store was one"
of the minor fire calls. Continpageued
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