Vegas cleans up after a safe New Year’s party

As far as Las Vegas New Year’s Eve celebrations go, Thursday night’s may have been one of the safest.

Few incidents were reported on the Strip, where some 300,000 revelers partied. The same was true downtown, where an estimated 22,000 to 23,000 celebrants filled Fremont Street Experience to usher in the New Year.

“It was a beautiful night,” said Thomas Bruny, marketing director for Fremont Street Experience. “People were celebrating, but there was no rowdiness. It was just a fun time.”

“We think it was one of the most successful New Year’s Eves we’ve ever had,” he added.

Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown said things went well on the Strip in part thanks to the large number of police officers.

“I think Metro’s presence on Fremont Street and the Strip really made a difference,” he said. “Everybody did what we want them to do, and that was to have a wonderful time, be safe and make good decisions.”

Las Vegas police reported just 10 arrests during New Year’s Eve festivities: eight, including one felony arrest, on the Las Vegas Strip and two on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

That's down from 2014's New Year’s Eve, during which 19 people were arrested on the Strip and three downtown. There were also nine DUI arrests in 2014. (No figures were available for DUIs on Thursday.)

Las Vegas Fire & Rescue also reported mostly minor incidents, responding to 388 calls from 7:30 a.m. Thursday to 7:29 a.m. Friday, up a little from last year’s 337.

"It was just a relatively calm night for us," said Lt. Tim Szymanski, the department's public information officer. Most of the calls were medical in nature, he said, though crews responded to two significant incidents — a fire in a vacant house and a serious vehicle accident.

“It just seems like everyone was having a good time,” Szymanski said. “They were behaving themselves, and they were being safe, which is great. That's what we want.”

Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa has a theory about the low numbers of incidents.

“I think maybe the cold weather dissuaded some people from inappropriate behavior,” he said of temperatures that dipped to near freezing before the clock struck midnight. “That’s just pure speculation on my part.”

Whatever the reason, the calm, orderly event was welcome in light of the heightened security following the Paris and San Bernardino shootings.

“We were monitoring it all,” Pappa said. “We all walked away just really happy that the number of incidents was really low.”

After the fireworks and the crowds dispersed, it was time for cleanup to begin.

Some 50 county workers began removing the barriers that had been installed along the Las Vegas Strip shortly after the fireworks finale, Pappa said. Thirteen street sweepers scoured the streets for two hours starting a little after 2 a.m., he said.

On Fremont Street, maintenance workers were keeping the area clean all night, Bruny said. “I walked the street this morning. Everything was cleaned up and looked like normal.”

Contact Marian Green at mgreen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5205. Find her on Twitter: @mgreen0708.