A wildfire crests over the hills above Los Alamos National Labs Sunday June 26, 2011 in New Mexico. A fast-moving wildfire forced officials at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to close the site Monday. (AP Photo/Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican) |
LOS
ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Federal forest officials say a wind-driven wildfire
has forced the evacuations of about 100 people in northern New Mexico
and the closure of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
U.S.
Forest Service officials said early Monday that the fire has burned at
least six square miles and is threatening buildings, power lines and
natural gas lines. They say it is about one mile southwest of the
government laboratory.
Lab
officials has closed the facility and say all radioactive and hazardous
materials were being protected. The site was founded during World War
II to develop the world’s first nuclear weapons.
Gov. Susanna Martinez toured the lab’s emergency operations center late Sunday.
Los
Alamos County authorities have issued voluntary evacuation orders for
the towns of Los Alamos and White Rock. Residents from the rural towns
of Cochiti Mesa and Las Conchas were evacuated after the fire started
Sunday.
Smoke from the fire could be seen in Santa Fe, more than 30 miles to the southeast.
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Los Alamos National Laboratory
SOURCE: The Associated Press
