Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Wildfire Reaches Los Alamos

Blaze on outskirts of lab complex extinguished

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 28, 2011 1:19 AM CDT | Updated Jun 28, 2011 2:25 AM CDT

(Newser) – A wildfire raging in New Mexico jumped a highway and set fire to an acre at the edge of the Los Alamos National Laboratory property, triggering the evacuation of thousands of nearby residents. The fire, which hit an area once used for underground tests of radioactive explosives, was extinguished safely and no off-site release of contamination was detected, AP reports. Radioactive materials stored elsewhere on the site were safe from the flames, lab officials say.

The Cerro Grande fire in 2000 scorched 47,000 acres of mountain forest in the region, leaving less fuel for the current fire, and destroyed some 100 buildings on lab property. "We're in a much better place than we were 11 years ago," said the lab's director. The current Las Conchas blaze started in the Santa Fe national forest and has raced through some 50,000 acres.

Jeni Morrison does one last check before leaving the town of Los Alamos due to the mandatory evacuation order yesterday. (AP Photo/Craig Fritz)

The sun filters through thick smoke from a wildfire burning near Los Alamos, New Mexico yesterday. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Threatened by the Las Conchas wildfire, cars wind their way along Diamond Drive following an evacuation order for Los Alamos, New Mexico yesterday. (AP Photo/Craig Fritz)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

10%

77%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Wildfire Threatens Los Alamos Nuclear Lab

'It's a very, very big concern'

(NEWSER) - It's not a good day to live near a nuclear facility : In New Mexico, a wildfire is edging dangerously close to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where the world's first nuclear weapons were developed during WWII. "It's a very, very big concern, not only locally but nationally and globally," says a spokesperson for the Santa Fe National Forest. The fire is about one mile southwest of the lab, which has been forced to close. More»

Los Alamos Officials Still Confident Lab Is Safe

But thousands of experiments remain idle during shutdown

(AP) - Los Alamos nuclear laboratory officials say it could be a few days before they'll know the extent of how experiments at the facility that created the first atomic bomb have been affected by a shutdown caused by a 125-square-mile wildfire . The lab has been shut down since Monday, when all of the city of Los Alamos and some of its surrounding areas—12,000 people in all—were evacuated. About 10,000 experiments had to be put on hold, and there's still no word on when the lab might reopen. More»

Wildfire Races to Los Alamos Plutonium

30,000 drums of spent material stored on grounds

(NEWSER) - Desperate firefighters scrambled today to keep a raging New Mexico wildfire from thousands of drums of spent plutonium on the grounds of the Los Alamos nuclear weapons facility. The potential danger has already forced the evacuation of the entire town of Los Alamos and the surrounding area. Officials insisted that radioactive material is safely stored and capable of withstanding flames from the nearly hundred-square-mile fire. But they were boosting protective measures and increasing air monitoring to check for radiation. "We are throwing absolutely everything at this that we got," New Mexico Sen. Tom Udall told AP . A finger of the fire jumped brush on Monday and ignited land at the edge of the complex, but was quickly extinguished. More»

New Mexico Governor: Let's Skip the Fireworks

She makes plea with wildfire near Los Alamos lab

(NEWSER) - With a wildfire burning up her state and threatening the Los Alamos nuclear lab, Gov. Susana Martinez thinks this would be a terrific year to skip the Fourth of July fireworks. She doesn't have the authority to order a statewide ban, so she's merely making an appeal to common sense. In the fall, however, she will seek such authority in a special legislative session, reports the Albuquerque Journal . More»

Arizona Questions 2 in Wildfire

Wallow blaze likely caused by campfire

(NEWSER) - Investigators in Arizona have questioned two "persons of interest" in the most devastating wildfire to ever blaze through the state, which they believe was caused by a single campfire in the Bear Wallow wilderness, reports the AP. It's unclear whether those involved will face charges or have to pay restitution, and officials thus far aren't calling the pair suspects. Click through the gallery for scenes of the wildfires, which have now consumed almost 480,000 acres in Arizona and New Mexico. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Wildfire Reaches Los Alamos

Blaze on outskirts of lab complex extinguished

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

New Mexico • nuclear weapons • wildfires • Los Alamos

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Wildfire Threatens Los Alamos Nuclear Lab

'It's a very, very big concern'

Los Alamos Officials Still Confident Lab Is Safe

But thousands of experiments remain idle during shutdown

Wildfire Races to Los Alamos Plutonium

30,000 drums of spent material stored on grounds

New Mexico Governor: Let's Skip the Fireworks

She makes plea with wildfire near Los Alamos lab

Arizona Questions 2 in Wildfire

Wallow blaze likely caused by campfire

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?