Los Alamos wildfire 28 percent contained as weather threatens to worsen

May 15, 2000
Web posted at: 9:03 a.m. EDT (1603 GMT)

In this story: Firefighters make progress White Rock reopened, Los Alamos stays closed Interior Department begins probe Clinton: 12 counties eligible for disaster relief RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico -- Firefighters on Monday announced they have contained 28 percent of the devastating wildfire in the Los Alamos, New Mexico, area as they raced to surround as much of the fire as possible before weather conditions worsen.

Meanwhile, a planned limited reopening of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, shut down last week because of the wildfire, has been delayed, officials said, to allow additional safety checks.

VIDEO CNN's Natalie Pawelski tours the Los Alamos National Laboratory in a rare media visit, to show that nuclear materials aren't endangered by the wildfires. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     GALLERY Fires blaze through Los Alamos, New Mexico     WEATHER FORECAST Los Alamos, New Mexico     MESSAGE BOARD Nature's wrath

The National Weather Service forecast called for winds between 10-20 mph on Monday afternoon, followed by still stronger winds on Tuesday, with expected gusts up to 50 mph. By early Monday, a National Weather Service wind advisory had already been issued for Tuesday.

Firefighters make progress

Cooler weather and light winds Sunday allowed firefighters to build an eight-mile break along the edge of the blaze that began May 4. The fire has burned more than 42,000 acres and forced the evacuation of about 25,000 residents, but there have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries.

The fire was intentionally set by the National Park Service to clear brush and grass, and thus prevent future wildfires. But it was quickly pushed out of control by high winds.

Although spot fires continue to burn on the grounds of the 43-square-mile Los Alamos National Laboratory, none of the fires threatened facilities, according to a report posted on the laboratory's official Web site Sunday.

The laboratory director has said that none of the facility's dangerous nuclear and other materials had been compromised by the fire and said operations would resume in phases.

"We have small teams of people entering all our facilities to make sure they are safe before we enter them, and then we will bring each technical area up one at a time until we believe it is safe for the entire site to be brought up," said Dr. John Browne.

White Rock reopened, Los Alamos stays closed

Authorities on Sunday completely reopened the community of White Rock, New Mexico, near Los Alamos because the fire no longer threatened the more than 6,000 homes there. Earlier, the town of Los Alamos was briefly reopened to nearly 400 evacuated residents, most of whom were restricted to a school bus tour of their neighborhoods to assess damage.

Emergency officials refused to predict when displaced residents will be allowed to return to Los Alamos permanently, saying it depends on the weather and firefighting efforts. Relief workers have begun helping the newly homeless.

"Our case workers are starting to meet one on one with every family to help meet their disaster-caused needs," Kristin Warzocha of the American Red Cross told CNN on Monday. "They're providing things like vouchers for food, clothing ... household appliances, prescription medications, trying to replace those things that are so important."

Interior Department begins probe

Meanwhile, over the weekend, an investigation team ordered by U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt began reviewing the circumstances behind the blaze, which was set at Bandelier National Monument.

About 20 investigators from the Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Energy and other agencies are looking into why authorities ordered the fire to be started when conditions were known to be so dry. Their report will be turned over to an independent review board, which will follow up on the investigation's conclusions.

Roy Weaver, the Bandelier superintendent who ordered the prescribed fire, has been placed on paid leave pending the results of the investigation.

Babbitt has vowed to provide residents with answers on Thursday.

Appearing Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition," Babbitt said federal laws obligate the U.S. government to reimburse homeowners if it is found to be at fault. The secretary said legislators with whom he has spoken think the residents should be helped.

"We've got to do something to make these folks whole," Babbitt said.

Clinton: 12 counties eligible for disaster relief

President Bill Clinton on Saturday declared 12 counties affected by the blaze eligible for disaster relief.

The counties that will receive aid under Clinton's disaster decree are Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Sandoval and Santa Fe, and the contiguous counties of Bernalillo, Cibola, McKinley, Mora, San Juan, San Miguel, Taos and Torrance.

About 260 homes are thought to have been lost in the fire, and overall damage is estimated to be about $1 billion.

Correspondent Greg LaMotte and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Los Alamos residents look on as suburb is reopened
May 14, 2000
12 fire-ravaged New Mexico counties are disaster areas
May 13, 2000
U.S. Forest Service temporarily bans 'prescribed fires'
May 12, 2000
Wildfire out of control in Los Alamos
May 11, 2000
Fast-moving fire descends on Los Alamos, homes ablaze
May 10, 2000
Brush fire forces evacuations at Los Alamos lab
May 8, 2000

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