ASK MR. SUN:

Las Vegas snow emergency

Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Mr. Sun archives

Dec. 23 -- Why are the UNLV sports teams represented by a Confederate rebel?
Dec. 16 -- Do our cars make music on Desert Inn?

If Las Vegas were blanketed by a foot of snow that lingered for days, what emergency steps could be taken to dig us out? Some states call out the National Guard if they are overwhelmed. Is that an option in Nevada? Or have the two wars depleted the equipment here too much? Does Steve Wynn have a snowplow?

Plan A is to leave it to Mr. Sun to clear the roads. Seriously.

On Dec. 11, local authorities held an emergency response exercise. Their prescient scenario included a storm similar to the 1974 front that dumped 9 inches of snow on Southern Nevada.

After analyzing their options, authorities concluded that waiting for sunshine to clear the roads is best.

“The posture would be to wait for the melt,” said Jim O’Brien, manager of Clark County’s emergency management and homeland security office. “We lack that capability in Southern Nevada for snow removal — Clark County Public Works has two snowplows and they’re dedicated to the higher elevations, the Nevada Department of Transportation has a handful, also dedicated to higher elevations.”

(Even if Southern Nevada had more plows, O’Brien said, the blades would scrape the Botts’ Dots — those buttons that mark lanes — off the roads, causing costly damage.)

“Traffic will typically keep the road surface clear if we don’t have icy conditions,” O’Brien said.

Plan B would be to declare an emergency and turn to the state for assistance. “That’s assuming other areas of the state aren’t contending with the same storm,” O’Brien said.

The state could offer its resources, including the Nevada National Guard. There are about 3,600 guardsmen in the state. Only about 200 are currently deployed.

“The rest would ostensibly be available to assist,” Nevada National Guard spokeswoman April Conway said.

Plan C would be to ask neighboring states for a hand.

“Luckily, this is an event that happens only about every 30 years,” O’Brien said.

Questions for Mr. Sun should be sent to page8@lasvegassun.com.

Discussion: 4 comments so far…

By Babyboomer

12/26/08 at 7:10 a.m.

Suggest removal

The qestion is "when will Las Vegas hit again".A plan is just that. Even Neveda should have something in place no matter how small it may be.
By neiman1

12/26/08 at 9:02 a.m.

Suggest removal

How horrible that we actually have to wait a couple of days while this plays out. People in other parts of the country are without power for weeks. Why do we NEED someone to come and take care of us with any inconvenience? Global warming is making all this happen.
By skisailmtb40

12/27/08 at 8:34 a.m.

Suggest removal

I am sure it will snow again soon. Global warming, you know.
By uddeboda

12/27/08 at 10:13 a.m.

Suggest removal

I must reply here. The same happens in the UK, when they get a few inches of snow, complete chaos.
Interesting to note what happens when they get not inches, but perhaps a few feet of snow overnight. They just close down the roads, untill the snowblowers have opened at least one file, then traffic is led thru in column. When the situation gets too bad, then the roads are winter closed for anything up to 4-5 months. When spring comes they get to work on 4-6 meters of snow, and traffic becomes normal once again. Not typical for L V, but the Norwegians have a system that works