Rescue teams conclude search of Las Vegas flood channel
Clark County firefighters searched the Flamingo wash area Friday morning for possible victims of flash flooding but found no one.
The Fire Department said on Thursday night it rescued two people from floodwaters in the wash after a record rainfall in the Las Vegas Valley. Deputy Fire Chief Jonathan Wiercinski said, however, that authorities received five reports of people who might be in distress in the wash area, so firefighters went back to the wash Friday morning to see if they could find evidence of other victims.
By Friday afternoon, the department said it found nothing of significance.
“As one last follow-up, CCFD crews searched up and down the banks of the Flamingo Wash from Paradise to Vegas Valley this morning,” said Thomas Touchstone, deputy chief of operations at the Fire Department. “We were unable to locate any obvious victims. CCFD searches have been suspended until such time as there is more information as to a particular location of a suspected victim is identified.”
A flood advisory watch for the Las Vegas Valley expired early Friday. McCarran International Airport set a record for March 12 with 0.77 inches through 9 p.m. Thursday when the rainfall stopped. The previous record for the day was 0.24 inches in 1973. The most rain in the valley fell at North Las Vegas Airport, which recorded 1.64 inches through 4 a.m. Friday. It received 0.84 inches until midnight Thursday and then 0.80 inches from midnight until 4 a.m.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
