Firefighters cool off bees swarming because of heat

Thousands of honey bees were saved Wednesday when Las Vegas firefighters came to their rescue.

Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said a man in a semi-truck was hauling bee hives from California to North Dakota when he stopped about 3 p.m. near his home in Las Vegas, near Alexander Road and Decatur Boulevard.

While the man was taking a break, the bees became agitated by the heat, Szymanski said, and started to swarm. The truck, which was covered with a canvas tarp, "needed to be moving to fan the bees" and keep them alive, he said.

Firefighters sprayed a "fine water fog" across the truck to cool the bees as they waited for the driver, he said. The driver returned to the scene and left with the truck a short time later.

Several people, including firefighters, were stung, Szymanski said. Some bees remained in the area but probably will die within a few days because of the heat, he said.