Local Briefs

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

* HOUSE BURNS -- A faulty electric range was the cause of a kitchen fire in a vacant northwest Las Vegas home undergoing renovation. About 12:10 p.m. Monday, passers-by spotted the fire at 204 N. Hinkle St., near Torrey Pines and U.S. 95, and called 911. Las Vegas firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control in a matter of minutes after forcing their way through the single-story stucco home's locked front door, said department spokesman Tim Szymanski. The majority of the damage was confined to the kitchen, where investigators believe it started, Szymanski said. Neighbors told authorities that a man who lived in the house for several years recently moved. A painter had been in the house that morning and didn't notice any problems. Damage was estimated at $25,000.

* MAIL DEADLINES -- If you haven't mailed that fruitcake to grandma, you better do it soon or it will cost you a lot. The deadline for first-class letters to have a shot at arriving on time Christmas morning is Wednesday. For priority letters and parcels, the deadline is Friday, the U.S. Postal Service says. Express Mail and parcels, starting at $10.75 per half pound or less, can be mailed as late as Monday to arrive by Dec. 25, the Postal Service says. Deadlines for on-time delivery of international mail and packages, military letters and parcels and Parcel Post have passed.

* CARJACKING REPORTED -- Metro Police were searching this morning for five people who carjacked a pickup at 28th Street and Stewart Avenue. About 6:40 a.m., the unidentified driver was approached at the intersection by five people -- two teenage males, one male adult, one female adult and one teenage female. One of the carjackers, armed with a large semiautomatic pistol, fired a shot at the driver's feet as the driver got out of the truck, police said. The driver was not injured. The gunman got behind the wheel of the pickup and drove away as the accomplices jumped into the bed, police said. The truck is a 1986 red Chevy full-size pickup with a California license plate of 4Y19913.