Las Vegas post office reopening after fire

The Las Vegas post office forced to close its doors to the public following a portable toilet fire on its roof will reopen on Saturday.

Las Vegas Silverado Station Post Office, at 455 E. Pebble Road, near Bermuda Road, has been closed to the public since July 7.

Clark County firefighters responded to the blaze on July 6 after a portable toilet for roof workers caught on fire. No mail was destroyed, only light smoke was reported inside the building and the flames did not extend past the roof, a county spokesman said.

But since then, crews have been cleaning and reconstructing portions of the facility damaged by a roof fire, water damage and later heavy rains.

A mobile retail van has been at the post office handling many retail transactions. For a couple of days after the initial incident, people braved the 100-plus degree heat to drop off and pick up mail, which was handed out by postal clerks in front of the building until the box section was reopened.

There was no impact to street delivery in the surrounding area, said Las Vegas Postmaster Craig Colton.

“I am thankful the damage wasn’t more severe,” he said. “I apologize for the inconvenience to both our customers and our employees. We are all happy to be back to normal.”

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Contact Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @WesJuhl.