Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Controlled blasting to resume

Two weeks after construction blasting damaged homes in Henderson, the city has decided to allow the controlled explosions to resume as early as Wednesday.

The decision to allow Sanders Construction to resume blasting in the Canyons development came after the company outlined steps it has taken to prevent a recurrence of a Dec. 20 accident that prompted the city to revoke its permit. The city has required Sanders to train employees in new procedures to follow in setting off blasts.

"We are still very apologetic for what happened, and we are still working to make things right there," Sanders spokesman Art Greene said. "We are going to do everything we can to prevent this from happening again."

Henderson officials suspect that more than 100 homes were damaged by the blast, which rattled homes a mile away. Within a day of the accident, Sanders reported that nine homes had suffered broken door hinges, broken windows, cracked stucco and dry wall, and other damage, city officials said.

Greene said the company's final estimate will be higher, but the exact amount of homes damaged isn't known yet. Sanders is self-insured and processing the claims itself.

The accident has raised tensions among residents near the Henderson development, located south of Horizon Ridge Parkway and east of Green Valley Parkway. About 200 people attended a meeting last week when Sanders officials explained what happened and outlined steps to prevent it from happening again.

Some residents wanted blasting outlawed or at least reduced in scope.

Scott Hansen, whose home on Timber Walk Drive had damage to a sliding glass door, said Wednesday the city shouldn't allow blasting to resume so soon.

"I am all for progress, but I just hope it's not to the detriment to all the homes up there," Hansen said. "I don't think Sanders addressed the concerns of the homeowners in the last meeting. I don't have any confidence they will step up to the plate and make sure the problems are taken care of."

Sanders, whose blasting of rock paves the way for building hillside homes, blamed the mishap on an underground void. An explosive poured into one of 325 holes drilled for the blasting drained into the void -- which apparently caused several holes to detonate at once, increasing the intensity of the blast, city officials said.

Henderson will require Sanders have the person drilling the hole work more closely with the person loading it with explosives. If a void is discovered after the blasting agent ammonia nitrate is loaded, the blaster will dilute it with water to prevent it from being exploded, city officials said.

Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at [email protected].

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