At about 10:45 MDT today, June 12, the fire management team reported that the Las Conchas fire near Los Alamos, New Mexico has burned 148,790 acres and is about 50% contained.
Fire managers have divided the fire into north zone and south zones, each with its own command team. Some parts of the north zone have fire in a creeping or smoldering mode, but the team reports that operations are basically in a mop-up and patrol phase. The burn area of the south zone has several different sections with varying needs, from mop-up and hot spot searches to monitoring by helicopters.
A growing concern now is the possibility of flash flooding. Much of New Mexico is prone to flash flood events anyway, but loss of vegetation due to fire can magnify this hazard -- and this is now the "monsoon" season. A complication in the area of Los Alamos is radionuclide contamination of soil from legacy nuclear wastes. Reuters had an article on this issue today:
Following a massive wildfire, crews at the Los Alamos National Laboratory have begun removing contaminated soil from nearby canyons out of a concern that flash flooding could wash toxins into the Rio Grande, officials said on Monday.
The Rio Grande is a source of drinking water for many communities in New Mexico, including the capital Santa Fe.
via uk.reuters.com
The issue of radionuclide contamination via both air and water pathways has been subject to scrutiny for some time, with several new studies and assessments coming out after the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000. Here are some links if you want to read more:
Radiological and Nonradiological Effects after the Cerro Grande Fire (2002)
Storm Water Quality in Los Alamos Canyon following the Cerro Grande Fire (2001)
Annotated Bibliography of Selected Cerro Grande Fire Publications (LANL)
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