Mine blast startles northwest residents

By Emily Richmond

Friday, May 9, 2003 | 11:26 a.m.

An unexpected boom in northwest Clark County startled some residents this morning, and officials plan to investigate whether the sound was tied to a scheduled gypsum mine blast near Blue Diamond.

A scheduled blast at the James Hardie gypsum mine near Blue Diamond went off at about 7:30 a.m., according to the Clark County Fire Department, close to the time many people reported hearing the boom.

Dean Walker, director of land development for Rhodes Homes, said while the fire department and other agencies are notified of the blast schedule his office is not, Walker said.

"Even though we own the property now, we have no control over the blast schedule," Walker said. "We never know when its going to happen unless we try to go up there and they tell us we can't because they're blasting."

A mine official said this morning that twice-weekly blasting usually occurs between 4 and 5 p.m.. Today's blast was moved to 7:30 a.m. because Rhodes is conducting tours of the site, trying to win public support for his development proposal. The official said upcoming blasts also will conducted on mornings for the same reason.

Cathy Snelson, assistant professor of geophysics at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said she heard the sound on her way into work and immediately noticed what appeared to be plumes of smoke spiraling up from the Red Rock area.

The university's monitors showed no sign of any seismic activity, Snelson said.

"It wasn't an earthquake, that's for sure," Snelson said.

If it was related to the mine blast, it's likely something would have shown up on the department's graph, Snelson said. She planned to check with other monitoring stations, including the U.S. Geological Survey office, to compare findings.

Dozens of other people throughout the valley were also unsure of the source of the sound. Some called police and fire dispatch while others phoned local morning television and radio programs.

Officer Jose Montoya, spokesman for Metro Police, said the 911 center received several calls about 7:30 a.m. from citizens who heard the noise. Several officers also heard it, he said.

Officers contacted other police departments in the county to see if they knew what the noise was, but he said "we didn't find anything." Officials at McCarran International Airport and Nellis Air Force Base also said the sound was not related to activities at either location.