City to try to make Sky-Vue more secure in wake of fires

Beth Slovic and Heather Rawlyk

Monday, Aug. 23, 2004 | 10:51 a.m.

Las Vegas officials said this morning that they plan to take additional action at Sky-Vue Mobile Park after a third fire erupted Friday only two days after another fire swept through the park and five days after the Las Vegas ordered "dangerous buildings" there demolished.

The city has issued a notice to the owners of the mobile home park at 15 W. Owens Ave., giving the owners until Aug. 26 to tear down units posing health and safety hazards.

The latest fire, which burned three trailers but injured no one, was the third since July 29 and caused city officials to wonder if they would have to take action sooner than originally planned.

No one has been injured or killed in any of the blazes.

As it stands now, if the Sky-Vue property owners do not respond to the city's notice to demolish crumbling units, the city will begin action to clear the site by sending out notices for bids from contractors to do the job.

However, Orlando Sanchez, Las Vegas' director of Neighborhood Services, said his office may choose to escalate the existing order.

On Friday Sanchez called the city attorney's office seeking legal advice on how to balance the owners' rights to due process with the city's responsibility to protect residents from possible dangers posed by the mobile home park.

Brad Jerbic, the city attorney, said Monday morning that the spate of fires "shows there is a risk to the public."

Jerbic said city rules allow immediate action when there is an "attractive nuisance" -- for example, an abandoned house that children may enter. "This is like that, a situation that may attract more problems," Jerbic said.

He said the city is going to make sure property is securely fenced and will have security guards patrol the property "until it's torn down." The cost of added fencing and security will be added to the DiMarco family's bills, Jerbic said.

The DiMarcos, owners of the property, are in a dispute with the city over charges for moving residents, storing personal belonging, arranging for transportation and meals, and other issues associated with closing the park.

The city notice to abate the nuisance was issued after the DiMarco family, failed to respond to a June letter by submitting a plan detailing how they would maintain the health and safety of residents at the park.

The DiMarcos asked for an extension on the 30 days they were given to submit the plan, saying they were trying to sell the property. That extension lapsed and the city sent out the demolition notice.

Sky-Vue was closed in April after the city declared it an imminent danger for its leaking sewer pipes, unsanitary water supply and faulty wiring. Displaced residents were moved to temporary homes after a judge upheld the city's decision to evacuate the area.

Las Vegas Fire Department Deputy Chief Richard Gracia said Sunday that "as soon as we can, we will work with, hopefully, the property owners and eventually get that area secure -- the sooner the better.

"If they did get security in place, there is a good chance that we wouldn't have to keep responding to fires out there," he said.

Gracia did not know how much it cost the fire department to fight Friday's fire, but said extinguishing the blazes "hasn't been cheap."

"It's expensive to run a fire department and expensive to fight these fires that keep happening there (at Sky Vue)," Gracia said. "So yes, putting a stop to these (fires) would be something we'd like to do quickly."

The fires remain under investigation, although Las Vegas Fire Department investigators have said they believe humans have caused the blazes. Wooden frames of mobile homes and debris in the trailer park provide perfect conditions for repeated fires.