Thursday, January 13, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Guard airlifts hay to cattle stranded by flooding

Mesquite residents start to clean up homes; some roads south of Beltway remain closed

Mike Francis, 15, removes a faulty sandbag Wednesday from floodwaters on Ronnie Way in Mesquite. Photo by K.M. Cannon. Volunteers climb into a pickup Wednesday after helping remove water from a Cottonwood Drive home in Mesquite after flooding washed several feet of water into homes. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

State authorities on Wednesday came to the aid of 700 starving cattle who were trapped by floodwaters from the Virgin River southwest of Mesquite.

The cows, 20 of which recently gave birth to calves from 1-day- to 1-month-old, were without food for three days.

The Nevada National Guard on Wednesday airlifted hay to the stranded cattle and is expected today to deliver more, said April Conway, spokeswoman for the National Guard.

Rancher Kraig Hafen said he could not get to the cattle on horseback Monday because floodwaters were more than 4 feet deep, and the flooding was even deeper Tuesday. Some cows and calves died in the mud left by the flooding, Hafen said.

"The problem is we have a bunch of little baby calves," Hafen said. "We were afraid the water was going to rise and wash them away."

Elsewhere in Clark County, flooded roads south of the Las Vegas Beltway were expected to remain closed until at least this afternoon, and Mesquite residents mopped up after flooding forced the evacuation of about 70 homes Monday and Tuesday, officials said.

The National Weather Service office in Las Vegas on Wednesday predicted no rain in Southern Nevada for the next seven days.

"The worst is over for now," meteorologist Larry Jensen said. "We are looking at dry conditions through the end of the week. All the water has begun subsiding, so flooding is going to be limited to ponding, mud and debris as the rivers subside."

In Mesquite, Dawn and Cliff Richard used brooms to push mud and silt from the Ronnie Way home they bought 10 months ago. Water had been 18 inches high in their house but had receded considerably by Wednesday.

"You go from being a proud homeowner to homeless overnight," said Dawn Richard, one of about 75 people forced to stay at the Virgin River Hotel free-of-charge Tuesday evening.

The Virgin River in Mesquite subsided Wednesday morning after it hit its highest peak in days at about 3 a.m., Mesquite Mayor Bill Nicholes said.

With the water dropping, city crews inspected for electrical and structural damage at the approximately 70 homes that had to be evacuated Monday and Tuesday.

About half of the nearly 130 displaced residents were expected to return to their homes by Wednesday evening, Nicholes said.

Gov. Kenny Guinn on Tuesday evening declared Mesquite a disaster area, and Nicholes estimated that more than $15 million of damage was done to private property in the city.

Because of the governor's declaration, residents should qualify for low-interest loans from the federal government to repair damage, he said.

In the Las Vegas Valley, several roads south of the Las Vegas Beltway remained closed Wednesday because water was rushing over them. They included Jones Boulevard, Buffalo Drive, Decatur Avenue and sections of Warm Springs Road.

"There is no way to assess the damage until the water stops running, and we expect those roads to be closed for another 24 to 48 hours," Clark County Public Works spokesman Bobby Shelton said Wednesday afternoon.

The floodwater is escaping from a brimming detention basin near the intersection of Nevada routes 159 and 160 south of Red Rock Canyon.

"There are three flood-control projects currently under construction that will mitigate all those water flows," said Gale Fraser, director of the county Flood Control District. "The projects should be finished by April or May, in time for the next flash flood season."

If the basin were not slowing the flow of water, those roads probably would be under 2 to 3 feet of water, Shelton said.

Shelton said motorists should not drive around barricades set up to prevent traffic on those roads.

Residents who work or live in the flooded area are advised to approach the area from Blue Diamond Road to the south, Shelton said.

Review-Journal staff writer Frank Curreri contributed to this report.