Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Weather:

Heat continues to take a toll on Las Vegas Valley with one dead, several hospitalized

Vegas Heat - June 29, 2013

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Spencer Suggars douses his head with water on the Strip Saturday, June 29, 2013.

A 26-year-old man allegedly wandering in the desert near Lake Mead was found dead Sunday, officials said.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified the man as Manuel Stanley Vargas of North Las Vegas. His cause and manner of death have not been determined.

A visitor alerted Lake Mead Recreational Area park rangers at 4:30 p.m. Sunday that a man was wandering in the desert near Placer Cove Road, park officials said. Four park rangers, four members of the wildland fire crew and Metro Police’s search and rescue team began looking for the man.

Authorities found Vargas’ body just after 8 p.m. more than 30 feet down a ridge near Nelson Road, park officials said.

The temperature reached a high of 120 degrees at Lake Mohave over the weekend, officials said. The record-setting temperatures prompted park rangers to educate visitors about the dangers of walking in the heat.

Even so, five people were treated for heat-related illnesses and more than a dozen people were rescued in separate incidents in the park over the weekend, officials said.

The blistering heat continued Monday in Las Vegas, sending four people to the hospital by mid-afternoon Monday, officials said.

The 911 center that handles fire and medical calls for Clark County received 15 heat-related calls from midnight to 2 p.m. Monday, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski said. Four of those calls resulted in transports to the hospital.

Those figures are down significantly compared with calls over the weekend.

On Sunday, when Las Vegas reached 117 degrees to tie the all-time high-temperature record for the area, there were 50 heat-related calls from midnight to 8 p.m., Szymanski said. Of those, 20 people were taken to the hospital.

The 911 center received 28 heat-related calls and 10 people were transported to the hospital from midnight to 8 p.m. Saturday, fire officials said. Officials believe the heat also played a role in the death of an elderly man Saturday.

On Friday, there were 35 heat-related calls and seven people transported to the hospital during the same time frame, officials said. That doesn’t include the dozens of people who were transported to area hospitals Friday after suffering heat exhaustion during the Vans Warped Tour outdoor concert at the Silverton Casino.

By 11 a.m. Monday, the temperature had hit 107 degrees at McCarran International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

The baking temperatures and lack of air conditioning forced the closure of a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles bureau on West Flamingo Road. DMV officials closed the building, located at 8250 W. Flamingo Road, just after 2 p.m. Monday because the temperature in the building was reaching 100 degrees.

One of the air conditioning units in the building had failed, officials said. The West Flamingo Road location is the DMV’s largest office.

DMV employees from the West Flamingo Road building were sent home for the day, officials said. They will be reassigned to other DMV officers if the West Flamingo Road location remains closed Tuesday.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy