Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Heavy rains brought flooding to southeast Nevada's rural Moapa Valley, but authorities say that despite a river cresting at a record high, the damage wasn't as bad as that caused by high waters in the area earlier in the month.
The Muddy River between the cities of Moapa and Overton had risen as high as it would and was now receding, Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Jon Klassen said Saturday.
National Weather Service meteorologist Justin Pullin said the river crested at a record 14.2 feet, about 4 feet higher than when flooding hit the area on Sept. 8. The previous high crest of 13.6 feet came in 1979.
Klassen said the only evacuations occurred in the tiny town of Warm Springs, but he didn't know how many people or homes were affected. The roads to the town were flooded and inaccessible.
Klassen said he had not heard any reports of injuries or damage to buildings, adding that "Moapa not too badly affected."
Authorities responded to cars stuck on Interstate 15, but no one was trapped and the cars were unoccupied, he said. The section of flooded interstate was about 14 miles away from the stretch washed out in the Sept. 8 flooding, which caused extensive damage to the key tourist and trucking route between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City and damaged 139 homes in Moapa, Overton and Logandale.
Interstate 15 just south of Mesquite reopened after flooding closed it in both directions Saturday morning, according to the Nevada Department of Transportation. But southbound travel was reduced to one lane.
The flooding wasn't as bad as earlier this month because of how the rain fell and where it was conveyed, said Erin Neff, spokeswoman for the Clark County Regional Flood Control District. High waters in washes didn't make it into the Muddy River on Sept. 8 and they were closer to an Indian reservation, while Friday's flooding was near Warm Springs Road, she said.
"It was a lucky miss, because that area certainly didn't need any more flooding," Neff said, adding that officials were concerned overnight about saturation from the previous flooding.
The river was not at risk of widespread flooding and water in washes was subsiding, she said.
"Right now everyone seems to be out of the woods," Neff said.
There were also reports of storm problems in Las Vegas, as well as a power outage in Henderson.
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said a townhouse was heavily damaged after being hit by lightning, but no one was hurt.
He said firefighters also responded to two calls of minor flooding, one at a residence and another at a business.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
