Wildfire near Los Alamos nuclear lab is largest in New Mexico state history
July 2 (Reuters) – The wildfire raging for a sixth day near the government’s Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory now ranks as New Mexico’s biggest on record, having charred more than 400 square kilometres of forest, officials said Friday. The so-called Las Conchas Fire, believed sparked by a downed power line, has been burning largely unchecked through the thickly wooded slopes of the Jemez Mountains, mostly in the Santa Fe National Forest, since Sunday. As of Friday morning, the blaze has blackened nearly 421 sq. km, surpassing the previous record set in 2003 by the 380 sq. km Dry Lakes Fire in the Gila National Forest. “That’s sad news that it’s the largest fire in New Mexico history,” Los Alamos County Fire Chief Douglas Tucker told Reuters. “That’s one of the banners you don’t want to wave.” The New Mexico fire has burned mostly in the Santa Fe National Forest and lapped perilously close to the Los Alamos weapons lab and adjacent town, home to some 10,000 residents. Both have remained evacuated since Monday. Laboratory and fire officials say no structures within the sprawling lab complex have been damaged, and no release of radiation or other hazardous materials has been detected. By comparison, the largest blaze in Arizona, the Wallow Fire, has blackened 2,177 sq. km since it erupted May 29 of this year. It is still burning. […]
