Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 | 10:59 a.m.
Gov. Kenny Guinn today put all state agencies under alert, as Nevada and the nation reacted to apparent terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
"We're on full stand-by alert all over the state," Guinn told the Sun this morning. "We are ready to react to any threat or action that would be taken against the state of Nevada."
Guinn, who called the deadly events unfolding in the East "devastating," stressed that no threats had been received as of this morning.
"At this point, there is nothing taking place in the state of Nevada," Guinn said.
The governor received a briefing from officials with the Nevada Emergency Management Division, on the state's preparedness to handle any attacks here.
Extra soldiers were posted outside the National Guard building that houses the Emergency Operations Center, where emergency officials were to get a briefing this morning from other state divisions and agencies.
And Capitol Police Chief Kenneth Johnson said additional officers were called to work, and the driveways to the capitol were blocked off to prevent entry of unauthorized vehicles.
In the Las Vegas metropolitan area, police departments were meeting this morning to discuss what plans to enact in response to the devastating attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon in Washington.
Metro Police stepped up security at Las Vegas City Hall, as officers stood watch at various city entrances and parking garages.
Officers stopped all vehicles attempting to enter the city's parking garage to check for proper city identification.
Municipal Court was shut down this morning, and officers said they were unsure whether it would reopen, causing dozens of customers to crowd into the rotunda in the middle of City Hall. Most city offices, however remained open.
Mayor Oscar Goodman planned a meeting with FBI agents this morning on the city's emergency plan.
Emergency information was be posted on the city's television station, Channel 2.
Las Vegas Valley has received no terrorist threats, local and federal officials said.
"We have no credible information that Southern Nevada will be targeted, however, we all are at the very highest alert," FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Las Vegas office Grant Ashley told reporters.
Both federal courthouses remained open as of this morning.
"We are at our highest level of alert, however I'm unable to comment beyond that, Deputy U.S. Marshall Leonard E. Boyer said. "I'll just say we are taking active measures to protect our tenants."
A federal security officer added: "We are not letting anyone in the building that we don't know without identification.
Security at major Las Vegas Strip resort casinos went on a heightened state of alert, as well. But no evacuations were under way.
"Where are we going to put all these people (if hotels are evacuated)?" said Tim Donovan, president of the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association. "We're talking hundreds of thousands of people stranded here. We have a responsibility to all the people stuck here.
"The last thing we want to do is start a panic. That's the biggest thing we're confronting right now ... how to assure safety without creating a panic," said Donovan, who is security chief at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino.
Clark County's emergency operations office placed the county on alert this morning, which means officials began coordinating and communicating with all local governments and police agencies in the Las Vegas Valley.
Steve Hanson, a deputy fire chief with Clark County and leader of the emergency task force, said his team of 62 was preparing this morning to be called on to help.
The team was officially in stand-by mode and once called would have six hours to prepare to board a military flight. The team travels with 50,000 pounds of search and rescue equipment in addition to enough food and water to sustain the team for 72 hours.
Hanson, who was called in on search and rescue during the Oklahoma City bombing, said the 1995 incident immediately came to mind when he turned on the morning radio and heard the news.
"Of course you think about Oklahoma City," he said. "But in this case we're just starting to realize the magnitude of the situation and it's a whole other level."
County spokesman Doug Bradford said the agencies were working together primarily to determine what to do with stranded passengers at McCarran International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all flights across the country grounded.
"When you shut the airport down, you have a lot of people that need to be moved to different locations," Bradford said. "We're looking for rooms and finding transportation."
Bradford said the county also was receiving updates from Metro Police and the FBI on any ties between the attacks and Las Vegas. Bradford said there have been no connections thus far.
Sheriff Jerry Keller met with other top Metro Police officials this morning to go over the police department's plans for the day in response to attacks.
"We have no threats at this time," Keller said "We are taking every precaution, but once again at this time there have been no threats whatsoever. Obviously it is a disaster back East, but we're working as usual with a heightened sense of awareness."
At a news conference, Keller said that 150 graveyard-shift officers were ordered to work overtime after news of the New York attacks.
"We didn't know what we would face here in Southern Nevada," Keller said. "We as a community need to be strong for each other."
Officers have since been reassigned to streets around Nellis Air Force Base to reroute traffic around the closed facility. Keller confirmed the Stratosphere closed its tower because of its height, but added the 1,149-foot tower is often closed during high winds and storms.
Keller repeatedly told the media that it is "business as usual" in the Las Vegas Valley and there have been no terrorist threats.
"We need the public to help us in maintaining calm and going about their business," Keller said.
"There is a tremendous sense of loss, helplessness, frustration, concern and emotion. In my life I cannot remembers such a terrible tragedy that has befallen us or such a terrible criminal act."
Officers were called to McCarran to help handle the people left stranded.
"As of 8 a.m. today, the FAA has basically closed the sky," Debbie Millett, McCarran spokeswoman said. "Planes en route to Las Vegas will be allowed to land, but no flights were allowed to take off."
There are about 900 flights a day in and out of McCarran.
Doug Karafe, the support services manager for the Clark County Sanitation District, was flying to Sacramento for a water quality meeting. His Southwest flight was on the runway, but returned to the gate.
"We were on the runway, taxiing out," he said. "Then we sat for 10 minutes. The pilot came on and said no flights were leaving at McCarran."
At the earliest, airport officials said, flights would resume at 5 p.m., but most airlines were booking for Wednesday. Residents can check www.mccarran.com for flight information.
Airport security evacuated A and B gates and locked down the terminal.
McCarran has been on heightened security measures since the Oklahoma City bombing, and remains on that alert.
The Clark County chapter of the American Red Cross today received numerous calls from Las Vegans seeking information about donating blood to help the victims in New York and Washington D.C.
"We won't know for 24 hours whether the national office will instruct us to send volunteers to New York," said local Red Cross spokeswoman Heather Ramirez.
"We also are getting a number of calls from people who have family members in New York, inquiring about their safety. However, we will not have that service available for at least 48 hours."
Cash donations can be made by calling 791-3311 and using a major credit card, in person at Red Cross headquarters at 3672 N. Rancho Drive at Gowan Avenue, by checks mailed to that address or by credit card over the Internet at www.redcross.org, Ramiriez said.
Clark County School District Police and Transportation officials also were on alert this morning, district officials said.
And staff members at Valley High School were trying to comfort co-workers personally impacted by the tragedy.
"We have several people who have family members who work in the World Trade Center," said Valley principal Ron Montoya, adding that the school was trying to keep as up to date as possible on new developments in New York City.
"We're keeping the lines of communication between here and there as open as possible," he said.
Montoya said he decided to shut off classroom televisions because it was up setting students.
"We're going to keep the televisions off so that the students don't get so alarmed," he said. "Right now, all of this just doesn't seem real."
Near the airport, representatives of two car rental companies in Las Vegas said this morning they were overwhelmed with requests for cars when it was announced that all planes were grounded.
Ed Velasco, operations manager for Budget car rental's central office near McCarran, said many of the Las Vegas operation's 2,200 cars weren't being returned as planned because many customers were stranded in the city and are hanging onto their vehicles.
Velasco said many renters who came in from California for the opening weekend of the National Football League season were driving their cars home.
"I'm not sure what that's going to do to our fleet here," he said. "We've just been renting cars to those who have reservations as cars have come in, but right now, there really aren't many coming in."
Offices for Hertz, Avis and Alamo rental companies were swamped with calls and lines were either busy or went unanswered. A manager at a satellite office of Alamo said his office received about 100 calls in 20 minutes, but vehicles in his 125-car fleet were reserved exclusively for in-town use for Alamo's insurance company and repair shop customers.
A large conference at the Las Vegas Convention Center was canceled today after a bomb threat was telephoned to Convention Center offices.
LVCVA spokesman Rob Powers said the International Baking Industry Expo, which opened Monday for 30,000 people, shut down its events and was trying to determine whether the rest of the show, which runs through Friday, would be affected.
Powers said the threat was called in within 15 minutes of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The Convention Center was evacuated and LVCVA employees were sent home. An LVCVA board meeting scheduled this morning at Cashman Center was canceled. The board, comprised primarily of elected officials from local government entities, did not have a quorum present to conduct business.
A spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said two telephone numbers have been set up for room reservations for stranded visitors. The numbers are 386-7809 and (800) 762-0296.
Classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas were to be held as scheduled today, school officials said.
However, UNLV President Carol Harter has canceled plans to make her annual State of the University speech today at 2 p.m.
Sun reporters Keith Paul, Mary Manning, Cy Ryan, Kimberly Smith, Adrienne Packer, Terry Webster, Emily Richmond, Grace Leong and Rick Velotta contributed to this story.
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