Homeless trying to sell copper wire blamed for blaze

Karen Zekan

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

Homeless people hoping to make a few bucks from a piece of copper wire are being blamed for a brush fire in northeast Las Vegas that charred almost 15 acres of desert.

Fire investigators have determined that the accused fire starters had set up camp in some bushes near Hollywood Boulevard and Vegas Valley Drive and were trying to burn the rubber off some wire to get to the copper beneath it when a spark hit a bush about 1 p.m. Thursday, said Bob Leinbach, Clark County Fire Department spokesman.

"They wanted to get to the copper so they could sell it and make some money," said Bob Leinbach, Clark County Fire Department spokesman. "With all the heavy winds, the fire spread quite rapidly."

An employee of Abbie's Auto Wrecking and Recycling Center, 6351 Vegas Valley, called 911 to report the fire. Within a few minutes, its ascending black cloud could be seen for miles across the valley.

A crew of county firefighters arrived and began attacking the blaze, but soon called for the disaster to be raised to a second alarm to increase the manpower.

Within an hour, 16 county units were battling the blaze alongside teams from the federal Bureau of Land Management and a tanker brought in from Nellis Air Force Base.

Winds blowing in excess of 20 mph whipped the flames down an L-shaped path, destroying only desert, Leinbach said.

The fire was virtually out by about 3 p.m., authorities said, although firefighters remained at the site several hours longer to monitor and put out any flare-ups in the smoldering vegetation.

One firefighter was transported to a local clinic for treatment of a shoulder injury suffered while lifting equipment, Leinbach said.

Many people were affected by the disaster, including employees at Abbie's who were evacuated, about 125 residents who temporarily lost telephone service, and an unknown number of Prime Cable customers whose lines were affected.

Authorities were also factoring in an unknown number of homeless people who probably had to find someplace else to sleep overnight, judging from the charred earth near where they apparently left behind shopping carts and other miscellaneous articles and debris.