Though the Cerro Pelado wildfire was still burning Friday, local officials in Los Alamos County, N.M., announced Thursday public school students will return to their normal schedules on Monday, May 16.
Meanwhile employees of the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory and the lab’s legacy cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) continue on “maximum telework,” according to a May 12 joint press release from fire officials with the lab, the county and DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
Between Wednesday and Thursday, the Cerro Pelado fire in the Jemez Mountains grew by only 490 acres, the smallest expansion since the fire began in late April, according to the release. Calmer winds, the use of fire-retardant drops and the efforts of 1,000 firefighters all contributed to the improvement.
The fire remains a few miles outside the lab and crews at the federal complex are removing dead trees and underbrush that could fuel the blaze.
“The slowness of the fire is giving us a chance to take extra preparations,” Los Alamos Fire Department Chief Troy Hughes said in the release.
No evacuations have been ordered around the laboratory or Los Alamos County but local authorities have urged residents to put together both an evacuation plan and a “go bag,” according to the release.
Earlier this week officials said via Twitter the blaze has already burned 43,000 acres. The National Weather Services forecasts Los Alamos County will remain dry over the weekend but winds were not expected to exceed 15 miles per hour.
