Wildfire reaches US Los Alamos nuclear facility
Jun 27, 2011 23:14:35 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jun 27, 2011 23:14:35 GMT -5
Wildfire reaches US Los Alamos nuclear facility
Related News
Firefighters beat back flames on nuclear lab property
6:21pm EDT
Fast-moving wildfire nears Los Alamos nuclear lab
4:39pm EDT
Wildfire spreads near US nuclear arms laboratory
11:37am EDT
Wildfire triggers evacuation for Los Alamos laboratory
12:04am EDT
Rain, less heat, help Texas douse wildfires
Thu, Jun 23 2011
Mon Jun 27, 2011 6:33pm EDT
* Los Alamos ensures reliability of US nuclear arms
* Officials say facility is "very well protected" (Updates throughout)
By Zelie Pollon
SANTA FE, N.M., June 27 (Reuters) - A raging wildfire on Monday briefly entered the property of the preeminent U.S. nuclear facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory, a vast complex that houses research laboratories and a plutonium facility.
A mandatory evacuation was ordered for the town of Los Alamos, which has a population of about 12,000. The speed at which the fire has grown surprised fire officials.
The laboratory, which ensures the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, is a national security research facility located in the Jemez mountains of northern New Mexico.
It was set up in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb and still maintains the nation's largest nuclear weapons arsenal.
Firefighters were able to douse flames on a one-acre (0.4 hectare) "spot fire" just inside the southwestern boundary of the lab site, about 25 miles (40 km) outside Santa Fe, authorities said.
Buildings still have not been touched by flames, and authorities said there was little threat to sensitive areas of the 28,000-acre complex (11,000 hectare).
The laboratory's plutonium facility is on the northeast side of the complex, while the fire seems to be moving south and east, said lab spokesman Kevin Roark.
"The facility is very well protected from any kind of wild land fire threat," said Roark. He said the facility survived a May 2000 wildfire that claimed some lab buildings and did more than $1 billion in damage.
Explosive materials on the laboratory's grounds are stored safely in underground bunkers made of concrete and steel, as well as earthen berms, Roark said.
"This fire is going to be with us for a while. It has the potential to double and triple in size," Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker said.
Nuclear watchdog groups are keeping a close eye on the fire, said Jay Coughlin, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico. (Additional reporting by Dennis Carroll. Editing by Karen Brooks, Cynthia Johnston and Jerry Norton)
www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/27/usa-wildfire-nuclear-idUSN1E75Q1NV20110627
Related News
Firefighters beat back flames on nuclear lab property
6:21pm EDT
Fast-moving wildfire nears Los Alamos nuclear lab
4:39pm EDT
Wildfire spreads near US nuclear arms laboratory
11:37am EDT
Wildfire triggers evacuation for Los Alamos laboratory
12:04am EDT
Rain, less heat, help Texas douse wildfires
Thu, Jun 23 2011
Mon Jun 27, 2011 6:33pm EDT
* Los Alamos ensures reliability of US nuclear arms
* Officials say facility is "very well protected" (Updates throughout)
By Zelie Pollon
SANTA FE, N.M., June 27 (Reuters) - A raging wildfire on Monday briefly entered the property of the preeminent U.S. nuclear facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory, a vast complex that houses research laboratories and a plutonium facility.
A mandatory evacuation was ordered for the town of Los Alamos, which has a population of about 12,000. The speed at which the fire has grown surprised fire officials.
The laboratory, which ensures the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, is a national security research facility located in the Jemez mountains of northern New Mexico.
It was set up in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project to create the first atomic bomb and still maintains the nation's largest nuclear weapons arsenal.
Firefighters were able to douse flames on a one-acre (0.4 hectare) "spot fire" just inside the southwestern boundary of the lab site, about 25 miles (40 km) outside Santa Fe, authorities said.
Buildings still have not been touched by flames, and authorities said there was little threat to sensitive areas of the 28,000-acre complex (11,000 hectare).
The laboratory's plutonium facility is on the northeast side of the complex, while the fire seems to be moving south and east, said lab spokesman Kevin Roark.
"The facility is very well protected from any kind of wild land fire threat," said Roark. He said the facility survived a May 2000 wildfire that claimed some lab buildings and did more than $1 billion in damage.
Explosive materials on the laboratory's grounds are stored safely in underground bunkers made of concrete and steel, as well as earthen berms, Roark said.
"This fire is going to be with us for a while. It has the potential to double and triple in size," Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker said.
Nuclear watchdog groups are keeping a close eye on the fire, said Jay Coughlin, executive director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico. (Additional reporting by Dennis Carroll. Editing by Karen Brooks, Cynthia Johnston and Jerry Norton)
www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/27/usa-wildfire-nuclear-idUSN1E75Q1NV20110627
