Quad, passenger van crash in Pahrump prompts Mercy Air response

Area first responders were met with a series of vehicle collisions and fires throughout the weekend.

Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services Chief Scott Lewis said crews were dispatched to a brush fire on the 600 block of East Intrepid Street on Thursday, April 27, just after 2 p.m.

“Upon arrival, we found a ground-cover fire which also extended to the nearby fencing and a power pole,” Lewis said. “The water tender company quickly extinguished that fire with no further extensions. Valley Electric Association crews were also on scene to ensure that their power pole was protected.”

Hours later fire crews were summoned to south Highway 160 and CAAS Road for a two-vehicle accident just after 8 p.m.

One person complained of back pain, but declined medical transport to the hospital.

Mercy Air response

Just after midnight on Friday, April 28, fire crews were dispatched to the 900 block of North Barney Street for a two-vehicle collision with injuries.

“Upon arrival, we found a vehicle resting on its side, just off of the roadway,” Lewis said. “We also found a patient lying next to that vehicle who demonstrated critical injuries. Mercy Air was summoned and the patient was transported to UMC Trauma in Las Vegas. The patient, at last status, was known to be in critical condition.”

Brush fire

Fire crews were summoned to the 3100 block of East Paiute Avenue for a brush fire extending to the roadway, at approximately 5:30 p.m.

“Upon arrival, we found a moderate speed ground-cover fire that had created an immediate exposure to the primary dwelling on that property as well as a perimeter wooden fence,” Lewis said. “The fire extended to the fence, however, the primary dwelling was protected and crews quickly extinguished the fire within approximately 20 minutes after arrival and mopped up the area for an additional half hour. There were no injuries reported.”

Quad versus van

Roughly an hour later, fire crews were dispatched to the area of Barney and Shadow Mountain streets for a two-vehicle accident just after 6:30 p.m.

“Initially, the accident was reported to be between a car and motorcycle, however upon arrival, we found a quad versus a passenger van,” Lewis said. “There was significant damage along with a debris field in the roadway. We found the rider of the quad was separated from the vehicle by approximately 20 feet.”

“A scene assessment revealed that we had one person who demonstrated injuries that were consistent with being in critical condition. Mercy Air 7 was flown to the scene, where patient care was transferred and that patient was transported to UMC Trauma in Las Vegas,” Lewis said.

Destructive fire

On Saturday, April 29, fire crews were dispatched to the area of Dove and Chukar streets at 12:15 p.m. for a structure fire, which took more than four hours to complete the assignment.

“Upon arrival, we found a camper which had at least one if not more stick-built additions attached to it,” Lewis said. “It was well involved and quickly extending to several nearby properties under wind-driven conditions. We also had a downed power line that dissected the incident and created two separate operational branches, therefore they were operating independent of the area where the downed power line was.”

Lewis said crews were able to quickly protect nearby exposures as well as numerous personal property at the residence, as crews from Valley Electric Association mitigated the downed energized power line.

“Valley Electric Association responded and de-energized the nearby power sources where our crews could continue in that particular area,” Lewis noted. “Water tender apparatuses were used for water supplies because there were no hydrants in that particular area.”

“Crews did a great job, and we also utilized our mutual aid system where we brought in an additional engine and water tender to the scene,” Lewis said. “Desert View Hospital was the established water supply site where a hydrant was utilized to refill those water tenders. There were no injuries reported.”

Several hours later fire crews were summoned to Loop Road for reports of a vehicle versus pedestrian collision about 4:30 p.m.

“Upon arrival, it appeared to be a relatively low speed impact,” Lewis said. “The bicyclist did sustain injuries however, they declined medical transport to the hospital.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com, on Twitter: @pvtimes