Towns near NM fire, nuclear lab wary of smoke
Smoke from the Las Conchas fire fills the sky near the Los Alamos Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M.. (June 28, 2011) Credit: AP
A wildfire that is threatening the nation's premier nuclear-weapons laboratory has grown to more than 108 square miles as firefighters brace for more erratic winds.
Crews have managed to hold lines along the southern boundary of Los Alamos National Laboratory as well as along a highway on the edge of the community of Los Alamos.
Fire information officer Rod Torrez says the key Wednesday will be keeping flames out of two canyons that stretch from the mountains into the community.
As crews battle the flames, state and federal officials are monitoring the air.
Part of the effort will include a special twin-engine plane that was dispatched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The plane is outfitted with sensors that can collect detailed chemical and radiological air samples.
'It's definitely a destination' NewsdayTV's Doug Geed takes us "Out East," and shows us the Long Island Aquarium, a comfort food restaurant in Baiting Hollow, a Riverhead greenhouse and Albert Einstein's connections to the East End.
'It's definitely a destination' NewsdayTV's Doug Geed takes us "Out East," and shows us the Long Island Aquarium, a comfort food restaurant in Baiting Hollow, a Riverhead greenhouse and Albert Einstein's connections to the East End.
