LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Fire hydrants are meant to provide water in an emergency, but one fire hydrant in east Las Vegas was running constantly.
“I’m angry, I’m angry. This is a big deal,” Elizabeth Mena, who lives nearby, says.
She estimates the fire hydrant, which sits off Desert Inn and Nellis, ran for weeks before it was repaired by the Las Vegas Valley Water District on Thursday evening.
“One, we’re supposed to be in a drought, right? And two, even if we weren’t in a drought, that’s how we end up in a drought,” she says.
The hydrant is near a homeless encampment, which is located in a vacant lot nearby.
“I noticed a homeless man with a tool,” she says. “He had a tool to open it up.”
Public Outreach Supervisor for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, Corey Enus, says about 20 of the 43,000 hydrants they maintain throughout unincorporated Clark County have locks already installed.
He says they have more locks already ordered and on the way.
Specifically for the hydrant on Nellis and Desert Inn, two of the hydrant’s three nozzles already have locks installed.
The third nozzle is larger. Enus says a larger lock that will fit the nozzle should be delivered in the next couple of days.
Anyone who sees a leaking fire hydrant should report it to the Las Vegas Valley Water District right away by calling 702-870-4194 or online here.
If a specific hydrant receives several complaints, Enus says they’ll consider adding a lock.
Once a lock is on, Clark County says their firefighters carry a specific key to unlock it, so there’s no delay when that water matters the most.
“Our firefighters are trained on recognizing the locks and need for the key and we have not experienced issues with those locks,” A spokesperson for Clark County said in a statement.
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