Hoover Dam explosion, fire caught on video
A fire and explosion rocked the iconic Hoover Dam in Nevada on Tuesday morning.
Bystander Christy Hairston posted a video on Twitter at 1:11 p.m., saying she was “walking around Hoover Dam” when she “heard an explosion.”
“Oh my god, something just blew up,” a witness can be heard saying in the video.
Boulder City, Nev., officials said the dam fire has been extinguished.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees the dam, said Tuesday that a transformer caught fire, but fire crews were able to extinguish the fire without incident.
No one was injured in the explosion, according to the agency, and the power grid is still functioning.
The iconic dam, completed in 1935, provides hydroelectric power serving millions of people in Nevada, Arizona and California.
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Water levels in Lake Mead are at record lows
The Hoover Dam was built to impound Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. But that massive reservoir has now shrunk to record lows amid a historic mega-drought in the western US fueled by the climate crisis.
Lake Mead was 1,041 feet above sea level on Tuesday, having dropped about 25 feet since the start of 2021, according to the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the operations. At only 27 percent of its capacity, this low water level has left a distinctive “bathtub ring” of white mineral around the shoreline.
Early Tuesday afternoon the temperature at Hoover Dam was 106F.
Recent images show just how severe the effects of the drought have been on Lake Mead. Low water levels revealed the original intake valves for the city of Las Vegas water supply for the first time. A Second World War plane also floats from the rapidly diminishing depths, a speedboat stuck vertically at the bottom of the lake – and the decomposing corpse of an 1980s murder victim in an oil drum.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Bureau of Reclamation.
Human remains in barrel surfaces due to drought conditions in Lake Mead
“I would say there’s a very good chance when the water level goes down we’ll find additional human remains,” Las Vegas Police Lt. Ray Spencer said.
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 10:30 pm
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The Hoover Dam fires affected an already fragile power operation
The Hoover Dam fire could not have come at a worse time.
As reporter Alexander Kaufman notes, the hydroelectric plant connected to the dam is already struggling to produce power as water levels in Lake Mead hit record lows.
As Louise Boyle reported, experts believe the dam could completely stop producing electricity due to the mega-drought in the West in the coming years.
Lake Powell has a 1 in 3 risk of hydro shut down in 2023 due to ‘megadrought’
The Colorado River supplies water to 40 million people in the western United States
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 10:10 pm
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Horrific pictures from Lake Mead show just how severe the drought has become
The Hoover Dam fire is just the latest shocking news to draw attention to the region’s massive water pipelines.
The drought caused by the climate crisis hitting much of the American West has caused water mains to collapse in Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, which was created when the Hoover Dam was built on the Colorado River.
Ethan Friedman has this look at what’s going on in Lake Mead.
Horrific pictures from Lake Mead show just how severe the drought has become
Dead fish, abandoned boats and dried up lakes are the consequences of climate induced drought
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 9:50 pm
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PHOTOS: Fire crews battle flames at Hoover Dam
Authorities released photos of fire crews battling the Hoover Dam fire.
According to the US Bureau of Reclamation, a transformer caught fire Tuesday morning.
Pictures showed firefighters as well as an automated sprinkler system working to contain the blaze, which was extinguished shortly after it started.
Firefighters spray water on a burning transformer at Hoover Dam on July 19, 2022.
(Complaints Bureau)
(Complaints Bureau)
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 9:30 pm
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Not this kind of transformer fire…
Authorities said a transformer caught fire at Hoover Dam Tuesday morning.
There are some online jokes about scenes from the Transformers film franchise where the iconic dam harbors an exploratory penchant for giant fighting robots.
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 9:10 pm
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Consideration of bids for an ‘extraordinary climate statement’
Although it is not yet clear what caused the fire at Hoover Dam on Tuesday morning, many parts of the Western United States and beyond are suffering from wildfires due to the climate crisis.
This has reportedly prompted Joe Biden to consider whether to declare a national climate emergency and use federal resources to address the crisis.
Gustav Kilander, Ethan Friedman and Louise Boyle look at what such a declaration could mean for the planet.
Biden ‘Considering Declaration of Climate Emergency’ – But Timing Remains Unclear
As president, Mr. Biden has the power to call an emergency and create an alternative path to reduce planet-warming emissions and produce more clean energy without input from Congress
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 8:50 pm
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Texas congressional candidate calls Hoover Dam a sign of ‘climate emergency’
Russell Foster, a Texan running as a Democrat for a seat in the US Congress, says today’s Hoover Dam fire is the latest sign of the climate crisis.
Authorities are still investigating what caused a transformer at the dam to catch fire, but the incident comes as many parts of the world are grappling with climate heatwaves.
“Texas and the American West are on fire. Hoover Dam just had an explosion,” Mr Russell wrote on social media on Tuesday. “Heatwaves across the Northern Hemisphere this week. London is burning. It won’t get better around the world until we address our climate emergency. We can’t handle it, we have to solve this problem.”
Here’s some of our coverage of the recent heatwave.
Heat waves are getting worse – what is the role of climate change?
About 90 percent of the heat is absorbed by the ocean
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What is the role of Hoover Dam?
The Hoover Dam is one of the most famous pieces of civil engineering in the United States and is a major tourist attraction as well as a major source of energy for much of the West.
The dam created and held back Lake Mead, which when full in non-drought years is the largest reservoir in the US, and its generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona and California.
Each year, the dam generates 4.5 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power for use in the three states, enough to serve about 8 million people in the region.
The Bureau of Reclamation says that during peak electricity periods, enough water flows through the generators to fill 15 medium-sized swimming pools — 20,000 gallons each — in one second.
Graham Massey knows the details.
What is the role of Hoover Dam?
The facility provides enough power for 8 million people in Nevada, Arizona and California
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 8:10 pm
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A bystander says the Hoover Dam bridge was “wobbly” after the explosion
TikTok user @iris_jaded says she captured another angle of this morning’s fire and explosion at the Hoover Dam.
“We saw it explode. It was very big,” she says in the clip. “The bridge we stand on now is shaking.”
In the video, an alarm can be heard in the background.
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 7:50 pm
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Power grid still operating after transformer fire at Hoover Dam: US Bureau of Reclamation
The US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), the federal infrastructure agency that oversees Hoover Dam, has announced what caused the fire and explosion seen at the iconic hydroelectric plant Tuesday morning.
“At approx. At 10 a.m. PDT, transformer A5 at Hoover Dam caught fire and was extinguished by [the USBR]/Hoover Fire Brigade at approx. 10:30am PDT. No patrons/employees were injured. There is no risk to the power grid. The power plant is still generating,” the agency said in a statement on Twitter.
“We are investigating the cause of the fire and will provide further updates as they become available,” he added.
Josh Marcus July 19, 2022 at 7:33 pm
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