LOS ALAMOS FACES TOTAL DESTRUCTION
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FROM SIERRA TIMES
http://www.sierratimes.com/arjj051100.htm
Angelfire, NM - As the state of emergency continues in Nothern New Mexico, due to the out of control brush fires that have over 800 firefighters under siege, Clinton has sent Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director, James DeWitt to inspect the damage done so far.
And due to high winds forcasted for the next few days, this beast will get worse. Conditions were expected to be particularly bad Thursday. The National Weather Service forecast gusts of 50 mph. The wind gusts in Pahrump, Nevada are currently at those levels - about a day and a half a way from the fire.
The finger-pointing has already begun in two areas. First, of course is how and why the fires (which have now consumed over 8000 acres) were started in the first place. Kayla Huff, an Angelfire resident, reported to SierraTimes that in Ruidosa, New Mexcio it was well known that conditions were not suitable for even a minor controlled burn to take place. "People in Ruidosa were upset just last week when they had a $500 fine for anyone smoking outside," Huff said. "They should have known not to start controlled burns at this time." Early weather reports back up this claim.
The "they" in this case is Park Superintendent Roy Weaver. Weaver accepts full responsibility for the fire and for starting a controlled burn in conditions that according to him, "had seemed right." Questions by Sierra Times about the future career plans for a man who takes "full responsiblity" for torching 8000+ acres, several hundred homes, and the evacuation of 11,000 residents in Los Alamos, causing Governor Gary Johnson to issue a State of Emergency and national security concerns went unanswered.
If the 35-45 mph winds persist, this fire may destory Los Alamos, New Mexico, a town whose sole reason for existence is to serve as the home for the employees of the Los Alamos Laboratories.
Major concerns have also been raised by reports of explosions being heard in and around the Los Alamos Labs, but so far, no Department of Energy Official has confirmed these reports. FEMA Director James DeWitt is reported to be openly more concerned about the Los Alamos area than the Ridosa area fire which hasn't resulted in as many forced evacuations of residents.
Governor Johnson and several other New Mexico politicians have also expressed their concern about the impact of the fire on Los Alamos National Laboratory. Lab officials say nuclear chemicals and weaponry are safely stored in concrete bunkers several feet underground. According to experts, those bunkers are made to withstand firebombings and are not in danger of releasing dangerous materials into the atmosphere.
But for some reason, FEMA director DeWitt is still very concerned. And here's more:
The Associated Press is reporting that they have a copy of the special weather forecast faxed to Bandelier shortly before the fire was started, and they reported that it was practically a blueprint for a spreading fire.
Kayla Huff lives roughly 100 miles from Los Alamos in Angelfire. She reported that the past two nights this thick plume of smoke has come across the mountains from the east and south. "At sunset it's real eerie as the sky is blue and the wide, thick smoke cloud is bright orange with pearly green, red, yellow colors around the edge of the cloud. Sorta like the colors you see inside a shell from the ocean. We can smell it up here, too," she said.
The closer one gets, the worse it looks.
As reported earlier at Sierra Times, there were multiple explosions at 49th and Trinity in Los Alamos - areas in the vincinity of the Lab Complex. Quemazon Trail is also believed to be burning, and major fire activity has been detected at Diamond and Trinity as well as North Road. Heavy flames are also reported around the Ponderosa Estates area. Smoke has been reported to be as high as 20,000 feet and spread out over 2000 square miles.
SierraTimes will follow this story as it develops. Stay tuned...
