LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Three months after a devastating fire that sank 14 boats at the Lake Mead Boat Harbor Marina, officials are now revealing new details about what caused the fire.
Mike Garel, Lake Mead National Recreation Area Assistant Chief Ranger, spoke during a Wednesday presentation featured in a monthly community call and provided a status update regarding the June 9 fire.
“Ultimately, it proved to be a very large, complex incident,” Garel said. “Not only in the initial response but also because of the substantial cleanup and the restoration efforts that are continuing to happen even today.”
Multiple agencies responded to the initial fire, including the Boulder City Fire Department, Henderson Fire Department, and Clark County Fire Department. Garel noted even marina workers jumped in to help those impacted by the fire during its first hours.
“Evacuations for visitors and boat owners and such that were on the dock began quickly with concessions employees and emergency responders coordinating their efforts to get those people to safety,” he said.
A National Park Service fire boat also responded to the scene of the fire, but Garel said the vehicle experienced a “pump failure” and was also damaged during the incident.
Garel said a final fire origin and cause report was completed and would be released in September. Although he did not cite the report directly Garel provided details on the fire’s origin.
“There’s no indication of any criminality,” he said. “I do not today, still have a total dollar amount to share as regards to the damage.”
The fire was believed to be started on a “vessel slip” on the I-dock before spreading to the H-dock, according to Garel.
“Largely in part due to the quick coordinated response from concessions, from our agency partners, from the surrounding county municipalities,” Garel said. “There were no major injuries or deaths that occurred as a result of this large incident.”
The National Park Service provided details that at least 26 boats were damaged by the fire and 14 of those boats were sunk. Marina facilities and parts of the National Park Service apparatus were also damaged.
Government wash
During the same Wednesday presentation, Mike Gauthier, Lake Mead National Recreation Area Superintendent, provided an update on the recently closed 20,000-acre Government Wash. The area was closed by officials following reports of damage, law enforcement incidents, and over 100 miles of illegal roads that crossed into endangered plants and cultural sites.
“It’s unfortunate, we understand, but not everybody plays well when they come to the park, and unfortunately, that creates a workload for the rangers, and it’s a stress for staff,” Gauthier said. “Part of the closure really was to protect the resource, but part of it also is to make sure that we could come up with the long-range plan that we did put in for a grant.”
Gauthier expressed hope for more funding later in the fall and said another public meeting would address plans for the area in December. The tentative long-term plan for the National Park Service is set to designate a couple of roads for camping opportunities, install more restrooms, and focus on more accessibility.
“But in all candor, it’s kind of developed a poor reputation because of the amount and volume of use, intensity of use, and some folks who just abuse it,” he said. “I don’t like closing anything, but we had to kind of gain control.”
