Storms prompt state of emergency in Nye County

On Sunday and Monday, July 25 and 26, two back-to-back storms blew through the Pahrump Valley, bringing hurricane-force winds and flash flooding that left a path of destruction in their wake and now, Nye County is striving to clean up the mess left behind, a process that will not only take enormous time and effort but will come with a fairly large price tag as well.

As a result of the anticipated expense of managing the cleanup, Nye County Manager Tim Sutton issued a declaration the day after the storms, formally recognizing the fallout from the wild weather event as an emergency situation.

“Nye County Manager Tim Sutton has issued a declaration of Existence of a Local Emergency on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, as a first step to seeking assistance and reimbursement from the state of Nevada and federal partners due to damage in Pahrump from the storms Sunday night and Monday,” an announcement sent out by Nye County Public Information Officer Arnold Knightly stated. “The declaration will go before the Board of County Commissioners on August 3 for ratification.”

This marks the third time in less than two years that Nye County has had to declare a state of emergency due to circumstances beyond its control.

In September of 2019, the county had declared a state of emergency in readiness for the chaos that was anticipated to hit the area due to what became known as “Storm Area 51”, which was started as a joke on social media but which rapidly became a social phenomenon that had not only Nye County but the entire state on high alert.

Although the actual results of the Storm Area 51 weekend were not nearly as bad as had been expected, the event still cost the county more than $360,000. Sutton told the Pahrump Valley Times on Wednesday, July 28 that thus far, the county has not received any reimbursements from the state for the costs incurred in association with the Storm Area 51 state of emergency but he said this wasn’t very surprising, as the situation did not result in any real incidents, though the preparation for the “just in case” was still costly.

The second declaration of emergency was declared last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, Nye County has already received millions of dollars to offset the expenses associated with mitigating and managing the pandemic, as well as to use in providing relief grants to local community members and businesses. The county is also set to receive additional funding of over $9 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. When added to the $8.4 million received from the CARES Act, total COVID-19 relief funding for Nye County would come to about $17.4 million.

The latest declaration of emergency outlines the battering that Pahrump took over the course of the two storms, reading, “…on Sunday, July 25, 2021, a severe storm generated heavy rainfall and winds of approximately 80-100 miles per hour which caused substantial damage to single-family dwellings, multi-family dwellings, public buildings, commercial buildings, schools, roads, utility infrastructure, parks, vehicles and other property located within Nye County; and… on Monday, July 26, 2021, heavy rainfalls caused additional damage and exacerbated damage from the July 25, 2021 storm…”

The document goes on to state that the National Weather Service is forecasting even more storm activity for the area in the coming weeks and this, as well as the results of the previous two storms, presents a significant risk to the health and safety of the county’s residents.

“…Conditions are beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of the county… Therefore, Nye County does hereby find: That the conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property have raised within Nye County, caused by significant storm activity commencing on or about 10 p.m. on the 25th day of July, 2021; and That the aforesaid conditions… warrant and necessitate the declaration of the existence of a local emergency,” the declaration states. “Now, therefore, it is hereby declared, that a local emergency now exists throughout Nye County…”

The Nye County Commission will address the declaration of emergency during its next board meeting, set for Tuesday, Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. Members of the public can attend in person at the commissioners’ chambers in Pahrump or Tonopah. Those who cannot attend in person can call in using the teleconference system, instructions for which are included on the agenda posted online at www.nyecounty.net

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com

Author’s Note: This article was updated to reflect the fact that the Pahrump Nye County Commissioners’ Chambers will be open for the upcoming meeting.