Broken and cut fences near drainage tunnels at Harmon and McLeod are letting people wander into areas where they should not go, and two schoolchildren were spotted riding scooters right past one of the gaps after school let out. The tunnels sit close enough to CW Woodbury Middle School and Lewis E. Rose Elementary that the breach is raising fresh safety concerns for families in the area.
Fence Breaks Found Near Two Campuses
According to FOX5 Vegas, the station found at least four damaged fences around Topaz and Tompkins alone, each one allowing easy access into the drainage areas below. The outlet reported that CW Woodbury Middle School is not far from Harmon and McLeod, while Lewis E. Rose Elementary sits even closer to where the fence holes are located. Reporters observed two children riding scooters near one of the damaged fences after school, underscoring how easily kids can slip into the drainage system on their way home.
The station's report also noted that many homeless people live in the tunnels the fences are meant to seal off, and that nearby housing sits close to the same drainage areas. FOX5 said it was reaching out to local governments and agencies to figure out who is responsible for maintaining and repairing the fences, though the outlet had not yet identified which agency oversees the work or whether any repairs are scheduled.
Why the Tunnels Turn Dangerous Fast
The drainage system beneath the fences is not just an empty concrete maze — it is engineered to move serious amounts of stormwater. A separate FOX5 report explained that when storms hit, water racing through those concrete drainage channels can turn underground shelter into a life-threatening crisis, with the channels funneling thousands of gallons of runoff toward the Las Vegas Wash exactly as they were designed to do. The same report noted that hundreds of unhoused Southern Nevadans seek shade inside the valley's flood-control tunnels during periods of triple-digit heat, which helps explain why so many end up living in a system built to flood on short notice.
That danger is not new. A 2023 account from the Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted Louis Lacey, director of HELP of Southern Nevada's homeless response teams, saying more than 500 people lived in the tunnels at that time, and warning that they aren't a safe shelter and can prove deadly. The Review-Journal described how flooding in the tunnels can develop within minutes into a fast-moving, thundering river that carries debris — a description that matches how quickly the channels are built to clear water out of the valley.
A System Under Pressure Statewide
Las Vegas's flood-control network has been tested repeatedly this year. News3 Las Vegas reported that heavy rain and hail moved through parts of the valley, flooding roads and sending water rushing through drainage channels, and Hoodline previously reported on a tunnel rescue after Clark County crews pulled a man from fast-moving water during a separate round of storms. Those incidents illustrate the same basic risk that damaged fences now expose to more people: a concrete channel built to control floodwater can become a trap the moment the weather turns.
Efforts to move people out of the tunnels altogether continue alongside the flooding risk. FOX5 reported that the Shine the Light Foundation helped 264 people transition off the streets and into housing, addiction recovery programs and employment services over the past year, a sign of the broader push to get residents out of the drainage system before the next storm hits. For now, though, the cut and broken fences near Harmon and McLeod remain open, with no confirmed timeline for repair and no agency yet on record taking responsibility for fixing them.
