#llas vegas history

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Thirty Three Years (and a Day) Gone

On May 4th, 1988, a loud explosion rocked the entire Southern Nevada Valley.  The ground rumbled, windows shook and, in many places, shattered completely.  Residents at first thought it was an earthquake.  Others who saw a mushroom cloud rising over  Henderson thought a nuclear nightmare might be unfolding in the industrial city.

In reality, it was an industrial disaster that occurred  at the Pacific Engineering Production Company of Nevada which was commonly referred to as PEPCON.  The plant, located in Henderson, was one of two American producers of ammonium perchlorate which is an oxidizer in solid rocket fuel boosters for the Space Shuttle and the military's Titan Missile  program.

The other American manufacturer, Kerr-McGee, was located less than five miles away from the PEPCON plant and well with-in the area that suffered blast damage.

A little background information:  After the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in January, 1986, the United States government continued their contract with PEPCON for ammonium perchlorate.  Despite the freeze on the Space Program, the company continued to manufacture the product at the same rate as before the Shuttle disaster.  Since there was no delivery of the product going on due to the freeze and no guidance from the government as to where to ship it to, the company stored the compound on site in plastic drums. These drums were housed on the parking lots around the plant.  The Las Vegas Review Journalreported in the aftermath that "nearly 9 million (yeah, you read that right) pounds of the chemical was consumed by the flames or explosions."

According to Wikipedia, a fire started by "a cigarette that had been discarded into a barrel of scrap ammonium perchlorate."  Nearby, workers were repairing a steel frame with fiberglass walls that had suffered damage in a recent windstorm.  They were using a welding torch.  The fire spread quickly once it reached the fiberglass material.  This led, according to the Las Vegas Mercury account by Gregory Crosby, to the first small explosion:

This small explosion raised the alarm "that enabled most workers to escape before a second larger explosion occurred on the heels of the first." 

Company comptroller Roy Westerfield "was on the phone reporting the emergency, explaining the urgency of the situation, "We've had an explosion and everything's on fire" he told a dispatcher.  (Las Vegas Review Journal)

The Henderson Fire Department responded to the fire.  When the Fire Chief arrived he saw a massive white and orange fireball and dozens of people running across the desert towards him.  The second explosion happened at 11:54 and the shock wave shattered the windows in the Chief's car.  A heavily damaged vehicle approached and its driver advised the chief that the danger was growing.  The Chief turned around and headed towards safety.

Inside the plant, Roy Westerfield was still trying to herd people to safety.  He was talking by phone to a dispatcher when  few seconds later he said "Get 'em all out of here".  These were quite possibly his last words. 

It was the third massive explosion that sent Henderson and Las Vegas residents running for their windows, radios and television news.   Local Channel 3 anchor Gwen Castaldi went on the air and began letting Valley residents know what was happening.  "It was a real moment of urgency and tragedy in the community." (Personal interview with Castaldi, 2005).

It was the third blast, according to Gregory Crosby, "that sealed the plant's fate when that 9 million pounds of chemical literally went up in smoke."  

The blast was so forceful that it knocked an arriving fire engine over two lanes.  Another arriving fire truck had its windows shattered.  Cars were overturned.  The explosion created a visible shock wave.  This explosion almost destroyed the Fire Chief's car but he was able to drive to a nearby hospital to seek treatment for his passenger and himself.

Inside the plant, Roy Westerfield and Bruce Halker, two employees who were shepherding people out of danger were killed.   More than 300 people were injured.

The marshmallow factory next door, Kidd and Co., suffered the brunt of the explosion.  Due to faulty equipment there were fewer employees working that day.  Those employees who were there evacuated at the first sign of trouble.  The marshmallow factory was destroyed. 

"The final explosion went off and PEPCON basically disappeared.  Boulder Highway looked like a war zone.  There was glass everywhere.." Eyewitness  and PEPCON employee Joe Hedrick.

The last explosion registered 3.5 on the Richter scale by the National Earthquake Information Center 600 miles away in Colorado.  A crater estimated at 15 feet deep and 200 feet wide was left in the storage area. 

A 747 on approach to McCarran Airport was reportedly buffeted by the shock wave.  The Airport, 11 miles away from the blast, suffered cracked windows.  An analysis later estimated the blast damage the equivalent of 250 tons of TNT. 

Nearby Basic High School suffered serious damage and damage was reported at McDoniel Elementary, Burkholder Middle School and Southern Nevada Vocational-Technical Center.  The last blast blew out the windows at Basic High School.

"We thought someone was out there with a shotgun" remembered teacher Michael Neighbors, "Like fools, we went right for the windows.  We literally pushed the kids out of the building.  It was like an air pocket.  The back of my hair parted." (Las Vegas Review Journal). 

The large plume of smoke could be seen around the valley and residents throughout the valley worried about chemical fall-out.   Luckily, the wind that day was only 20 to 25 mph and kept much of the chemical from settling in the valley.  Local health officials predicted that lives were saved because of the winds.

Damage was estimated at $74 million dollars.  The nearby Fire Station was heavily damaged and there was structural damage to a nearby warehouse.

PEPCON, renamed Western Electrochemical Company, relocated to Iron County, Utah.  Now some 14 miles northwest of St. George, they began the relocation a mere three months after the devastating explosion at the Henderson plant.  Kerr-McGee moved their plant 17 miles northeast of Las Vegas to Apex.   For awhile Kerr-McGee continued to manufacture the more stable liquid form of the chemical on site.  But in 1998, ten years after the disaster, the parent company of PEPCON/Western Electrochemical Company bought out the remaining ammonium perchlorate contracts and moved all production to Utah.

Senior Company official, Fred Gibson, Jr tried to shift blame from PEPCON to Southwest Gas by saying that a ruptured gas line caused the fire.  However, this conflicted with eyewitness testimony by employees.  PEPCON attorney told the Las Vegas Review Journal, three days after the disaster, "Nothing ignites ammonium perchlorate.  It does not burn.  It is not flammable."  Chemists from around the world immediately disputed the attorney and called the product "unstable and highly flammable." 

After the explosion it came out that the facility had been cited numerous times since 1974 for safety violations.  There had been a small explosion in 1980 that had injured a worker. 

More than 50 law firms represented dozens of insurance companies and corporations in lawsuits.  The case ran up tens of millions of dollars in attorneys fees and produced 1 million pages of depositions.

The case wound its way through the judicial system from 1989 to 1992 when a $171 million settlement was reached before going to a jury trial.  Insurance companies that had reimbursed some 17,000 claimants received almost 100 cents on the dollar.

Clark County agreed to pay $3.8 million to insurance companies as a result of shoddy inspections that had taken place at the plant over the years. 

Southwest Gas also agreed to settle because according to their attorney "it was a practical decision made because of the uncertainty of what a jury might do at trial." (Las Vegas Review Journal).

Southwest Gas later found out what a jury would do.  In a trial that lasted a little over a month, PEPCON's insurance company argued that gas, which is lighter than air, had leaked from a pipe then moved horizontally underground toward the plant 670 feet away.  The gas was then to make a 90-degree turn upward and ignited with an unknown source. (Emphasis added)

Following final arguments, the attorneys hadn't even gotten back to their offices before the call came from the court house that a jury had reached a verdict.  It took less than a half hour for the jury to laugh that idea out of court.

The disaster was a turning point for the development of Henderson.  The city began to shift from being the "City of Industry" (its slogan) to a bedroom community of Las Vegas.  A few years after the disaster, Green Valley subdivision, a master planned community, took off with home buyers and changed the dynamics of Henderson forever.

Though many industries remain in Henderson, the city is now a growing hub of suburban dwellers looking to escape Las Vegas.

[classiclasvegasblog]

Preservation Spotlight: Mark Hall-Patton, historian

You've probably seen on on TV- from the local access Clark County channel to History Channel's Pawn Stars to talking with the late Huell Howser on Road Trip, Mark Hall-Patton is one of the most recognizable faces of local history.

With his Amish-like beard, ever-present Atwood hat and relaxed manner, Mark has become a favorite of producers when they want someone to talk about Las Vegas Valley history. He oversees the Clark County Museum system, including the Clark County Museum out on Boulder Highway - the home of Heritage Street, the Searchlight Museum and the Cannon Aviation Museum at McCarran Airport.

He also is the history advisor on the very popular Pawn Stars cable show. Despite his busy schedule and the fact he was planning an out-of-town trip, we were able to persuade him to answer a few questions.

CLV Blog: How did you become interested in Las Vegas history?

MHP: I came to the Vegas area in December 1993 to help create and manage a museum at McCarran International Airport.  Now known as the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum, I had to do a great deal of research to know the history I was presenting. 

As a local historian anywhere I reside, I began researching Las Vegas and Clark County history.  I found our history interesting, but with many holes which led me to more research.  In 2008 I was asked by the County to take over the entire Clark County museum system (3 museums, including the Clark County Museum, Searchlight History Museum, and the Cannon Aviation Museum).  Since then I have been able to expand my knowledge of local history, delving into even more areas.

CLV Blog: What is the most interesting historical fact/image/object you have found about the city and why?

MHP: This is a difficult question, because it is nearly impossible for me to decide on just one aspect of our local history.  Especially when we talk about local history artifacts, the County’s museum system has so many fascinating pieces.  Even though ti may be cheating, or not quite answering the question, I would choose a few pieces as being inordinately fascinating. 

First are two Paiute sinew-backed bows which were given to the museum as part of the George Family (relatives of the Kyles) collection.  The use of sinew in bow making provides a vastly greater level of power, and show a technology I did not know the Paiutes employed. 

 On a different note, a donor recently gave the museum a scrapbook from the Kit Kat Club, an integrated, gay nightclub which operated in North Las Vegas during World War II.  No interior photographs were known of this club until this scrapbook turned up. 

 And finally, I would have to go with the Neon McCarran Field sign at McCarran International Airport.  It dates from about 1950, and was put up when the columns on the Lass Vegas Boulevard side of the field were moved from what is today Nellis Air Force Base (which was the original McCarran Airport) to today’s McCarran.

CLV Blog: Can you talk a bit the history of Las Vegas and what people should know that they probably don't.

MHP: I think most histories of Las Vegas spend way too much time on the mob and   organized crime in Las Vegas history, and way too little on the people who made Las Vegas the community it is.  I think the nineteenth century and early twentieth century history is much more interesting, and certainly important.  

If it had not been for Antonio Armijo moving the Old Spanish Trail (which of course was neither old nor Spanish) and bringing it through the valley, we would not have had John Charles Fremont stopping here, and putting us on the map. 

 Later, had Brigham Young not had a much larger vision for his state of Deseret, and therefore, sent the original Mormon settlers here, there would have been no ranch for Octavius Decatur Gass and his two partners to buy. If Gass had not bought out his partners, and then owed three years of back taxes to the state of Nevada (since when we were annexed to Nevada in 1867, the local residents weren’t told and didn’t find out for three years), he wouldn’t have borrowed money from Archibald Stewart. 

 If Stewart hadn’t foreclosed on Gass, he wouldn’t have brought his wife Helen to the middle of the desert, who stayed on after his death and was here to negotiate the sale of the ranch to William Clark’s railroad company for the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad. 

Much of what people know about our valley tends to be from movies or popular culture, neither of which is interested in historical accuracy.

CLV Blog: Why is the history of Las Vegas important?

MHP: Any community’s history is important to that community, but in the case of Las Vegas and Clark County, most of our residents are like me, from somewhere else.  It is important to understand why your area exists, how it came to be, and why it is what it is, which can only be learned through a basic understanding of its history, especially for newcomers.  It helps to show why you should care about your home, why it is special and unique, and how you fit into the picture.

CLV Blog: What's the biggest obstacle to overcome in preserving history and why.

 MHP:  I think the biggest obstacle to preserving history is bad history.  In too many cases, history is presented in a boring way with no connection to today. 

 When many presenters of history try to make connections to the current day, they are not clear, and focused on easy, and therefor often wrong, presumed connections.  We should celebrate history, presenting it as the story it should be, rather than a disembodied set of facts and statements. 

I believe if we presented history well, the needed resources and support for preservation would follow.

CLV Blog: Why is history and preservation work important to Las Vegas residents. 

MHP: While I think I have answered much of this question in my previous answers, I will say that if history and reasonable preservation efforts were pursued, many local residents would find our valley much more of a series of communities. 

 Hopefully they would find it a place they want to live and support, feeling a part of the present and future, and building on an interesting past.

______

Remember, History is what binds us to our community!

Be sure to visit the Clark County Museum and enjoy a stroll down Heritage Street where a number of buildings important to Las Vegas Valley history are preserved.

A special thanks to Mark Hall-Patton and all of our Spotlight participants so far. Still to come:

Karan Feder- clothing and costume preservationist

Heid Swank, the executive director of the Nevada Preservation Foundation

Clay Heximer, the historian and preservationist of Paradise Palms

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Breaking News: Las Vegas Centennial Commission supports Huntridge Revival!

Congrats to Michael Cornthwaite and the Huntridge Revival Group! They have managed a major breakthrough!

The Las Vegas Centennial Commission has awarded a $1 Million grant to the Historic Huntridge Revival Group!

This means that work can continue on saving the building and renovating it!