The top US nuclear research lab was ordered to stay closed Tuesday after flames reached it and the local town began evacuating, though all high-risk materials were safe, officials said Monday.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) said there had been “no off-site releases of contamination” after a one-acre (.40 ha) blaze on the southwestern edge of the research complex northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. An emergency operations unit remains working at the high-security site, founded during World War II when it began developing nuclear weapons technology, and which nowadays employs some 11,800 people.
The center was ordered closed Monday after the Las Conchas fire neared the edge of the site, and in an afternoon update authorities said it would remain closed for at least another day. “The Lab will remain closed on Tuesday .. because of risks presented by the Las Conchas wild fire and the staged, mandatory evacuation of the Los Alamos town site,” where some 42 percent of its staff live, said LANL website.
