LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – One year ago this week, Tropical Storm Hilary hit Mt. Charleston.
“To be honest, when we heard about the storm, we didn’t really think anything would come out of it… But what we got instead was a torrential river that came and destroyed this entire road,” said Old Town Mt. Charleston resident Arash Aalam.
The storm flooded roads and devastated neighborhoods. It also damaged the mountain’s only elementary school, which has been closed ever since.
“The aftermath is what really hit us, how it destroyed our infrastructure, the water lines. We didn’t have running water for about two months,” said Aalam.
Mt. Charleston Fire Captain Steve Clement was at the fire house in old town the night Tropical Storm Hilary swept in.
He said although they started preparing for the storm several days in advance, they weren’t sure exactly where it was going to hit – or how hard.
“Got a call from the fire chief at the time. He said, ‘Hey, can you look outside? We’re getting reports of major flooding across the bridge,’” said Clement.
When he looked out of the window, he saw rushing water covering the bridge and parking lot, reaching all the way to the library on the hill. He said the debris was piled even higher, and some of that debris still remains near the library a year later.
“It clicked right away that it was pretty serious,” said Clement. “We started mobilizing resources from town that we had engaged down there. The international guard came with some units, and they were about to cross some waterways to really help us identify the residents that needed help.”
“The amount of rain and the volume and velocity of water was so powerful, it really took out pretty much a lot of infrastructure in this canyon,” said Ray Johnson with the U.S. Forest Service.
Johnson said most of the road and home repairs are complete, but some trails on the mountain remain closed, with still no estimate for when they could reopen.
First responders and residents on Mt. Charleston said although the storm was devastating to many, it helped them better prepare for future storms – and brought the community even closer together.
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