Another Nuke Plant Threatened- New Mexico

Strange that the southwest is so dry that we are having these wildfires but the west overall had one of the coldest springs & late snowmelt is causing rivers to flood at record levels.

The Weather Channel just now reported that while there are safety crews in place they were grounded as the winds were so strong yesterday that helicopters & air tankers could not even get in the air & they are not sure if they will be able to today. Also they brought in people to monitor the radiation levels. And there is a mandatory evacuation in the area & the flames are now just 4 miles from the facility.

Again, the Hippies were right. Nukes are bad !!


Article highlights:

There is "the potential for the blaze to more than double in size."

The fire "forced the closure of the lab"

"Laboratory officials said the wildfire sparked a spot fire on its property that was soon contained Monday,"

"Flames were just across the road from the southern edge of the famed lab, where scientists developed the first atomic bomb during World War II." .... Karma ?

"The anti-nuclear watchdog group Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety said the fire appeared to be about 3.5 miles from a dumpsite where as many as 30,000 55-gallon drums of plutonium-contaminated waste were stored in fabric tents above ground."




NM blaze threatening nuclear lab, sparking fires


LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Firefighters worked through the night and into Tuesday hoping to put out spot fires erupting ahead of a wildfire in the mountains above the northern New Mexico town that is home to a government nuclear laboratory.

"That's the biggest threat we have right now to homes in the community," Deputy Los Alamos County Fire Chief Mike Thompson said late Monday of the fires that left hillsides above the town of Los Alamos glowing.

The ominous orange haze was visible at night from deserted Trinity Drive in Los Alamos, from which 12,500 residents were evacuated. The evacuation was so calm and orderly that there wasn't even a traffic accident, Police Chief Wayne Torpy said.
A crew that had been working at the Arizona wildfires took over efforts at the New Mexico fire Monday, about 18 hours after the blaze started. It has quickly grown to 44,000 acres — or 68 square miles — and ignited a spot fire on lab property.

Another firefighting team was expected to arrive Tuesday because of the potential for the blaze to more than double in size.
The wildfire has destroyed 30 structures south and west of Los Alamos. It forced the closure of the lab and, for many, stirred memories of a devastating blaze in May 2000 that destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings in town.

Laboratory officials said the wildfire sparked a spot fire on its property that was soon contained Monday, and no contamination was released. They also assured that radioactive materials stored in spots on the sprawling lab were safe.

Flames were just across the road from the southern edge of the famed lab, where scientists developed the first atomic bomb during World War II. The facility cut natural gas to some areas overnight as a precaution.

http://news.yahoo.com/nm-blaze-threatening-nuclear-lab-sparking-fires-094526882.html