Rain throughout valley brings floods, traffic

Rain pounded Southern Nevada on Monday, clogging roadways from Las Vegas to Lake Mead as Mount Charleston residents kept an eye on streets already soaked from a flash flood last week.

Temperatures plummeted below 70 degrees for the first time since late May as the rain cooled down the blistering Las Vegas summer weather. The National Weather Service on Monday afternoon issued a flash flood warning for the valley after a storm filled gauges with half an inch to an inch of rain in 30 minutes before heading northeast.

The Clark County Fire Department reported that the flood’s force swept a child hundreds of feet down a wash near the intersection of South Buffalo Drive and West Hacienda Avenue. The child, who was playing with friends, was able to get out of the water unassisted, officials said.

Rain flooded areas in the west valley include Grand Teton Drive, near Buffalo Drive, the weather service said. Street flooding on Grand Teton was expected to last into Tuesday.

Nevada Department of Transportation reported that flooding also closed Charleston Boulevard at about 9 a.m. in both directions, half a mile east of Calico Basin Road.

A landslide occurred in the early morning at Kyle Canyon Road at about mile marker 12, above Harris Springs Road, Clark County said.

U.S. Highway 95 closed later in the afternoon at Kyle Canyon and Lee Canyon roads, the transportation department reported, because of flooding and a mudslide.

“The roadway is pretty tore up,” said Las Vegas police supervisor Lt. Dave Valenta.

Valenta said Metro’s search and rescue unit was sent to the Kyle Canyon area about 3:30 p.m. to help multiple vehicles stuck in the roadway, including a semitrailer and a bus. A passenger on the bus called 911 when the bus slipped off the road and started taking on water. All of the passengers made it off safely on their own, Valenta said.

A spokesperson for the county also reported damage on Rainbow Canyon Boulevard and Harris Springs Road, which washed out Sunday night, and heavy debris on Scottie Road near Grand Teton and Kyle Canyon Road. Roads in Nelson, about 40 miles southeast of Las Vegas, were also affected by flooding and debris, the spokesperson said.

Flooding closed state Route 165 on Monday afternoon near the Lake Mead boundary, by Nelson Landing and Placer Cove.

Kingman Wash Access Road, a dirt road that enters Lake Mead from Arizona, is washed out and closed, the National Park Service said. Temple Bar Access Road, which leads to Temple Bar Marina on the lake, is impassible, officials said.

Kyle Canyon, the Carpenter 1 Burn Area, Harris Springs and Red Rock Canyon, near the 215 Beltway, saw heavy rain — some places got an inch and a half of rain in about an hour — overnight, according to the weather service.

At about 1:30 p.m., a ranger at Death Valley National Park reported a foot of water was crossing low spots along state Highway 190 between the park entrance and Death Valley Junction, where an inch of rain fell in about an hour.

An estimated 3 inches of rain fell west of Searchlight within about an hour about noon Monday, the weather services said.

Clark County commissioners will consider a disaster declaration for Mount Charleston at their Wednesday zoning meeting. That declaration makes the county eligible to seek federal and state aid for damages from the recent flooding.

Several houses last week in the Rainbow subdivision on Mount Charleston were filled with mud and debris from a flash flood last week, with rocks and boulders covering yards. Residents in the mountain community raised concerns after Clark County turned down a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project because of concerns about a requirement to assume the legal liability of the 1,700-foot proposed earthen berm on U.S. Forest Service land.

Gov. Brian Sandoval toured the area and visited with county officials about the issue, and it was unclear Monday how officials will fix the problem.

However, Rainbow resident Becky Grismanauskas said a staffer with the governor’s office contacted her on Sunday and again Monday to see how the area is faring from the second round of rain.

Early Monday, the Rainbow area was holding up, she said.

“We’ve got some water coming down the road, but nothing that’s a big deal,” Grismanauskas said, adding that she’s pleased with the governor’s interest. “We’re a little bit concerned about today because the ground is so saturated. After the fire, the water just runs off.”

Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., toured the Rainbow subdivision on Monday. He said he’s reached out to the governor’s office and is contacting county officials to see what he can do to help move the corps project along. He said the infrastructure needs of the area should look beyond the berm project to protect the region following the Carpenter 1 fire.

Temperatures were about 88 degrees on Monday with 88 percent humidity, the weather service said. Tuesday is expected to be much dryer and warmer, with sunshine and temperatures in the high 90s.

Crews will be cleaning up weather-worn areas throughout the week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com and 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.