County declared state disaster area

Adrienne Packer and Mary Manning

Thursday, July 15, 1999 | 10:52 a.m.

Gov. Kenny Guinn declared Clark County a state disaster area early today, making neighborhoods ravaged by floodwaters during last week's fierce rainstorm eligible for state funds.

The governor also sent a letter to President Clinton this morning requesting a 100 percent federal grant to cover $20.5 million in damage done to public facilities and still-unassessed damage to private property, Jack Finn, Guinn's spokesman, said.

The president must name the county a federal disaster area before funds are made available, and the state must commit to matching a portion of the funding if the grant comes in at less than 100 percent.

Finn said Thursday that the city of Las Vegas and Clark County have agreed to help replenish the state emergency fund if needed.

Assessment crews who surveyed the county earlier this week said floodwaters and sludge that streamed across roads and crashed through structures caused $20.5 million damage to public facilities.

And while assessors have yet to meet with residents or add up the loss of private property, County Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury said 353 homes were damaged. Five were destroyed.

As state and federal officials scramble to tally the total damage done by last week's torrential downpour, additional rainfall has continued to ravage the valley.

For the second night in a row Wednesday, thunderstorms flooded parts of Las Vegas, mostly in the northwest part of town.

About 8:30 p.m. the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for western Clark County and parts of Nye County.

The storms rumbled into the valley from the northwest, meteorologist Charlie Schlott said, dropping from 1/10 to 1/2 an inch.

That was enough to bring floodwaters at Jones Boulevard and Washington Avenue and Jones and Lake Mead Boulevard to hubcap level.

Storm clouds driven by high winds blackened the western skies before sunset.

Although humidity levels dropped from a high of 85 percent on Wednesday to 35 percent by early Thursday morning, showers and thunderstorms could return today, because the air mass is ladened with moisture, Schlott said. Those showers should remain in the surrounding mountains.

The valley is expected to dry out and warm up this weekend before thunderstorms return in the forecast on Monday.

During a press conference called Wednesday to update the community on total damages, cleanup efforts and to warn residents of lingering hazards, Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams said the current figures are not final.

"The storm (Tuesday) caused even more damage," said Williams, dressed in jeans and a ballcap after touring her saturated district.

If the federal money does not come through, Woodbury said, the consequences could be devastating for the county's budget. Clark County has no specific disaster fund, but it can take money from other coffers.

"If we don't get federal funding, we might have to reduce services temporarily or go with a very low ending fund balance," Woodbury said. "Neither of those are happy prospects."

Allowing the ending balance to go below the usual $40 million to $50 million -- 8 percent to 10 percent of the county's budget -- could hurt the county's bond rating, County Manager Dale Askew said.

The county has worked diligently address flooding problems in the valley by building more detention basins and placing more stringent flood control conditions on developers.

While residents complain about the aesthetics of the basins that wind through the community, they saved the valley from much more serious problems, Williams said.

For example, it takes 12 hours for rainwater to flow from Red Rock Canyon to the basin behind the Desert Inn hotel-casino. At the exact same time the water reached the Strip basin Tuesday night, another storm slammed the city. Williams said without the basin, the damage would have been devastating.

While the county waits to hear whether it will receive emergency funding to help homeowners, residents who were most affected by the storm are being assisted by the Red Cross.

The Clark County Health District urged homeowners who are cleaning floodwaters and mud from their homes and businesses to wear rubber gloves and use chlorine bleach to clear away the muck.

Bacteria, viruses and other organisms lurking in the floodwaters can cause skin rashes, nausea, severe headaches and diarrhea, the health district said.