Motorists require swift water rescue in Overton flood

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

Heavy rains on Tuesday evening, Sept. 13, caused the closure of State Highway 169 south of Overton. Crews worked throughout the day Wednesday to clean up mud, debris and even vehicles that were caught in flashfloods at the Overton Wash and at Magnasite Wash.

Swift water rescue teams were called in to assist in saving occupants of two separate vehicles which got caught in rising waters. The emergency call came in to Moapa Valley Fire District (MVFD) at about 1:26 am on Wednesday.

One of the stranded vehicles, a semi-truck, was located in the rushing flood waters at Overton Wash. The other, a van with an couple inside, was located just a little further south in front of the Simplot loading operation stuck in rising runoff from the Magnasite Wash.

“Obviously to get down to Simplot we had to go through Overton Wash,” said MVFD Chief Stephen Neel. “So we dealt with that rescue first.”

Neel said that the driver of the semi truck had been headed to Simplot to pick up a load of sand and was trying to pass through the floodwaters when he got stuck in the deep mud that had gathered in the roadway.

“At that point the floodwaters rose suddenly and he couldn’t get out,” Neel said. “The water was moving very rapidly at that point.”

A local swift water rescue team went into the water to extract the driver. “They are a three man team with life jackets, helmets and rope equipment,” Neel explained. “They were able to walk out in the rushing water using the rope for stability. And they brought him back in.”

Neel said that about five minutes after everyone had returned to safety, a sudden surge of water came down the wash. “It was a wall of water about three feet high that came down fast,” he said. “It took the truck and jack-knifed it against the wall right there in the Overton Wash.”

The next challenge was to get to the other victims. Local Metro Police officers had crossed the wash on foot over the railroad bridge and had to walk nearly a mile to the site where the other vehicle was being flooded. But the officers were unable to get to the victims because of the rushing water.

After taking care of the victim in the semi-truck, firefighters also crossed the railroad bridge. Neel said that he had contingency planning in place for such an instance.

“We put our contingency plan in action and called in Matt Hopkins,” Neel said.

Hopkins is a resident who lives in that area south of Overton. “We woke him up and said, ‘We need your help.’,” Neel said. “So he came over with his truck and we jumped in and he took us down there.

In the meantime, both police and fire units tried to reach the distressed couple by going south on I15 and coming through the Valley of Fire State Park and backtracking back towards Overton. But those units were also unable to get close enough for a swift water rescue.

Meanwhile, the water had risen to a level up and over the front windshield of the van.

In the end, a Metro Search and Rescue helicopter was called in to attempt a hoist rescue.

“They dropped a Search and Rescue guy down onto the vehicle and then he hooks up the person,” said local Metro Sergeant Keegan Doty. “Then they hoist them back up and drop them where we were so we could give them attention.”

Neel said that the occupants of the van had gone into early stages of hypothermia due to extreme stress and the cold water.

“We got them into a warm vehicle to get them warmed up,” Neel said. “Then we got them back to our command center near the Robbins Nest. They were both okay and they refused medical care.”

Neel emphasized the importance of drivers not venturing their vehicles into flood waters. “When you see water crossing the road, do not cross it because you don’t know what is in the roadway; and the water can rise fast, like we saw there that night.”

“Trust me, the last thing you want to do is be disabled inside of floodwaters.” Neel added. “Because you’re not only putting your own life at risk, but also putting our first responders’ lives at risk to come to the rescue.”

State Highway 169 remained closed throughout Wednesday afternoon as crews worked to get mud and debris cleared from various points on the highway south of Overton.