LAS VEGAS (AP) — Police say an officer suffered burns early Monday evening in the remote Nevada town of Sandy Valley when a trash fire inside a barrel exploded.
Las Vegas Police PIO Laura Metzger said Tuesday the officer was at a vacant residence responding to a call of a suspected burglary in progress when the explosion occurred.
Police say a resident of the area was burning trash in the barrel. Authorities say the explosion appears accidental and there's no indication there was an explosive device in the barrel.
Sandy Valley sits southwest of Las Vegas on the border of California.
Metzger says the officer is being treated at the UMC Burn Center where he was flown Monday.
She says the officer's injuries don't appear to be life-threatening.
