High winds spark fire at corral, three horses die

Ed Koch and Mary Manning

Friday, March 1, 2002 | 10:18 a.m.

High, whipping winds knocked down power lines early today, including one that ignited hay in a corral at Lindell Road and Eldora Avenue, killing three horses.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Bob Leinbach said, however, that 30 county and city of Las Vegas firefighters from a dozen units that responded to the two-alarm blaze at 2 a.m. were able to save another horse from injury and prevent the flames from reaching area homes.

Firefighters remained on the scene throughout the night, concerned that gusting winds would rekindle the blaze, Leinbach said. Two of the horses perished while firefighters fought the fire. A badly burned horse later died from its injuries.

March indeed roared in like a lion, as such windy conditions are typical of this time of year when the area's weather changes from winter conditions to spring, the National Weather Service said.

The weather service issued a wind advisory for Lake Mead National Recreation Area through today. A wind advisory for the Las Vegas Valley was in effect through noon today.

Daytime temperatures plummeted from Thursday's high of 75, weather service meteorologist Don Maker said. The normal March 1 high is 67 degrees. The weather service is predicting a high of 58 to 63 today.

Weather service spokesman Brian Fuis said the high winds began kicking up shortly after midnight and the top recorded wind speed at McCarran International Airport was 52 mph at 5:20 a.m. today.

"The winds started at about 30 to 35 mph and gusted to 40 to 50 mph throughout the night," Fuis said. "This condition was caused by a ridge of high pressure off the Pacific coast meeting a ridge of low pressure off the Rockies that dove south rapidly."

Winds, along with temperatures four to nine degrees cooler than normal, are expected through the weekend as the cold front sweeps across Southern Nevada, chilling tens of thousands of race car fans attending the NASCAR Winston Cup Weekend at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In addition to the fire that destroyed the corral, firefighters were busy throughout the early morning at other sites left damaged and littered by the high winds.

City of Las Vegas firefighters were called to the scene of what was thought to have been a building blown over by winds at 2461 S. Buffalo Drive. When they arrived they saw a large toppled sign that resembled a small collapsed building.

At 6120 Chelsea Circle, a tree fell on a house because of high winds. A power line also was down at that location. No injuries were reported.

Fuis said winds are expected to reach 20 to 30 mph out of the north through today and tonight, with winds gusting to 40 mph after dark. Breezy conditions with northerly winds expected at 15 to 20 mph are on tap for Saturday, with winds tapering off a bit Sunday, Fuis said.

Sunday's forecast calls for a high of 58 degrees with sunny skies and lighter winds. The weather is expected to improve Sunday as high pressure calms air currents over the valley and chases clouds, Maker said.

Despite the temperature dip and strong winds, no rain is predicted for Southern Nevada.