Flooding Washes Away Parts of Major Nevada Freeway
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Heavy rains and flash flooding throughout the Southwest washed away portions of heavily used Interstate 15 in Nevada, prompting state officials on Tuesday to close a nearly 50-mile stretch of the major trucking artery that runs between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
In addition, Zion National Park in southern Utah was closed after officials said roads were made impassable by debris from heavy rains.
Elsewhere, residents began to mop up and dry out after seasonal monsoon moisture combined with the remnants of Tropical Storm Norbert on Monday to dump rain throughout the Southwest and set a single-day rainfall record in Phoenix.
Floodwaters submerged vehicles and homes in several states.
In Nevada, transportation officials said the I-15 corridor could be closed for three to four days while they hurry to repair pavement that had crumbled into slabs over muddy red dirt.
A detour added about 50 miles to the trip between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
"I don't think it can be overstated just how important I-15 is," Utah Department of Transportation spokesman John Gleason said.
Clark County Deputy Fire Chief Jon Klassen said the repairs could be difficult.
"It looks crazy broken to me," he said.
The rain was blamed for at least two deaths in southern Arizona.
A woman died after her car was swept away and became trapped against a bridge in Tucson, and a 76-year-old woman drowned when her husband tried to drive across a flooded wash in Pinal County.
Freeways in Phoenix became small lakes and rescuers scrambled to get drivers out of inundated cars after more than 3 inches of rain fell. A flash-flood watch was issued for much of the rest of the state through Tuesday evening.
In Nevada, the brunt of the storm hit Moapa, a town of about 1,000 people in a sparsely populated rural area some 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. More than 4 inches of rain fell in the area within two hours, pushing the Muddy and Virgin rivers to near-flood stage.
"We saw it right at the cusp and it didn't go over," said Erin Neff, spokeswoman for the Clark County Regional Flood Control District. "It's a near-miss."
Klassen said crews performed a dozen or so rescues, including hoisting three teenage ATV riders from the floodwaters using a helicopter.
Forty-two people were evacuated from a middle school and high school in Moapa and spent the night in a building at Clark County fairgrounds. Churches provided blankets, and a store and restaurant donated food before police escorted the people over the damaged I-15 on Tuesday, according to Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling.
About 190 people were evacuated from the Moapa Band of Paiutes reservation after tribal officials warned that waters were close to breaching a Muddy River dam. Officials were assessing damage to properties with leaky roofs and wet floors where water breached flood control channels.
"There's a lot of mud. It's wet. Roads have collapsed. But it looks a little brighter today," said Sherryl Patterson, administrator at the tribal office. "We had rivers running through people's yards. But as far as property damage to homes themselves, I think we fared pretty well."
Union Pacific Railroad service was suspended while crews repaired track near Moapa that was undermined and washed out by flash flooding.
Officials hoped to have the track bed and rails repaired for freight service to resume on the busy the Las Vegas-to-Salt Lake City main line by Wednesday.
Wet weather took its toll on other states, stranding cars near Palm Springs and in the Coachella Valley in Southern California.
In Utah, rangers at Zion National Park were turning away guests after heavy rains sent mud and debris onto Route 9, the road through the main canyon, and a large boulder blocked traffic.
National Weather Service meteorologist Charlotte Dewey warned that any additional precipitation in the Southwest could quickly cause new flooding because the ground is saturated.
The storms were an inconvenience for many truckers who were facing longer drives and added fuel costs because of the detour between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City.
Las Vegas resident David Campbell, 47, was refueling his Freightliner at a truck stop near the roadblock. He had traveled less than 3 miles in an hour and was facing a congested detour that he expected would almost double his normal six-hour trip.
"I am ready to call my boss and tell them to tell the customer I am not going to be there on time," said Campbell who was hauling a load of auction vehicles from Chandler, Arizona.
"I only have 11 hours to drive."
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Associated Press writers Astrid Galvan in Tucson, Ariz., Paul Davenport, Bob Christie and Alina Hartounian in Phoenix, Michelle Price in Salt Lake City and Ken Ritter in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Suggested Tags
Topic: Business,General news,Small business,Travel,Weather forecasts,Lifestyle,Weather,Floods,Accidents and disasters,Traffic,Transportation
Location: Nevada,Las Vegas,Arizona,Salt Lake City,Phoenix,Utah,United States,North America
People: John Gleason,Paul Davenport
Organization: Utah Department of Transportation,Utah state government
