Monday, June 12, 2000 | 11:42 a.m.
Fire a week from control
The Buck Springs fire that destroyed 2,000 acres of pine and juniper forests in the Spring Mountains 45 miles northwest of Las Vegas was declared contained by 6 p.m. Friday night by fire officials.
But it will take up to a week before firefighters squelch all of the hot spots and the fire is considered under control, said Betty Blodgett of the U.S. Forest Service.
The cost of the fire, ignited by lightning striking a pinyon pine tree about 10 days before flames spread, is estimated at roughly $1.4 million. At the height of fighting the fire, an estimated 660 people on the ground and in the air battled the blaze.
Teen killed by accidental shot
A 14-year-old was killed Friday afternoon when a gun that he and three other teenagers were playing with was accidentally fired in a North Las Vegas neighborhood near Civic Center Drive and Evans Avenue.
Cesar Enrique Rosales died after being shot about 2:15 p.m. in the back yard of a house in the 2300 block of Oakwood Avenue, according to North Las Vegas Police Lt. Chris Larotonda and the Clark County Coroner's Office.
Initially two of the teenagers, who were all between 15 and 17 years old, told police that someone had peeked over the yard's fence and fired at the victim, Larotonda said, but after individual interviews police learned that the teens had been playing with the gun.
Man killed in van accident
Metro Police detectives say alcohol and speed appear to have contributed to the death of a 26-year-old Las Vegas man who lost control of his van and hit a guard rail Saturday night.
Julio Sesar Murillo was thrown from the van and died at the scene, according to police and the coroner's office.
The 1984 Dodge van was eastbound on Charleston Boulevard east of Grand Central Parkway when the driver switched to the right travel lane, lost control, drove onto the sidewalk and struck the metal guard rail, police said.
It was the 41st fatal accident in Metro's jurisdiction this year.
Missile launch successful
The Defense Department successfully launched a surface-to-surface missile from the Nevada Test Site Saturday, hitting a target 70 miles north in a little more than three minutes.
The conventional missile was launched at 9:29 a.m. from the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Department of Energy spokeswoman Nancy Harkess said. The launch site was 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
The missile carried an inert warhead and its launch will help Army and Air Force planners to collect information on missile performance for a military program called the Joint Suppression of Energy Air Defense, Harkess said.
If something had gone wrong, the system could have stopped the missile about six seconds after launch by detaching it from the rocket motor, she said.
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