THE BIG ONE

Major quake in California could split I-15 in two, causing major ramifications for Golden State, Nevada

What would happen to Nevada if a big earthquake hit California? We’d most likely be far enough away to avoid any direct damage, but secondary repercussions could potentially be severe.

Last month, the Los Angeles Times reported that a magnitude 7 earthquake or higher could result in more than 400,000 California refugees. While most of them would likely elect to stay in California, the state of Arizona has prepared for a potential Golden State deluge by running a massive emergency drill.

Here in Southern Nevada, we welcome a flood of Californians every day. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, more than a quarter of Las Vegas’ annual 42 million-plus visitors travel here from Southern California. The average daily auto traffic at the Nevada/california border is 44,880, and that doesn’t include the seemingly endless hordes of Californians moving here for good to take advantage of Nevada’s comparatively lower cost of living.

For locals who have begun resenting Californians for raising housing prices here, consider this: Southern Nevead would be in trouble if the Southern California-to-southern Nevada pipeline were suddenly cut off. For Southern Nevadans, that’s a significant aspect to the scare of “the Big One” hitting California.

According to the LA Times, a major earthquake could move the San Andreas fault by as much as 30 feet, splitting Interstate 15 in two at the Cajon Pass. If you’ve ever seen the lines of gridlock heading to California at the end of a long-weekend, you understand the cascading effect of even the smallest highway slowdown.

“Anytime you have the I-15 closed, it’s a significant event,” said Nevada Department of Transportation spokesperson Tony Illia. “That’s a major interstate. In many regards, it’s our lifeline to the outside. … For a community like Southern Nevada that is so dependent on tourists, conventions and visitors as the staple of its economy, having a functioning transport system is hugely important.”

NDOT works hard to prevent the state’s transportation system from failing; it inspects 1,900 bridges in Nevada a minimum of every two years. After a May 2015 earthquake in Caliente, NDOT

REED SAXON / AP FILE (1994) A collapsed overpass above Interstate 5 near Reseda, Calif., is seen after a 1994 earthquake in the San Fernando Valley. Officials say a major earthquake along the San Andreas fault has the potential of splitting Interstate 15, the major route between...