Friday, July 01, 2011

Las Conchas Fire Still On The Move

Perimeter diagram from GeoMAC.



Once again, folks (like Bruce) in Albuquerque are agitated by the smoke. But not half as agitated, I'm sure, as the folks in Los Alamos!

For days now, we've been hearing all kinds of Panglossian announcements from the federal officials at the labs there that everything is under control. It scares the hell out of me!
Six days after the Las Conchas fire broke out officials have reported it is now the largest wildfire in state history, burning at over 103,841 acres.

More than a thousand personnel are fighting the blaze which is now three percent contained. Air tanker will begin to attack the fire in its most aggressive area, north on sacred Native American sites.

Santa Clara Pueblo is under a state of emergency as more than 6,000 acres of Santa Clara's watershed has been damaged by the fire. The pueblo's governor said they are working with forest officials to make sure the flames don't reach homes.

The Bandelier National Monument property has burned more than 50 percent but officials said they have the flames under control in that area.

Governor Susana Martinez stated at a press conference that $2.8 million has been spent on the firefighting efforts and that the blaze is the number one fire priority in the country.

...As the fire moves northeast, it is hitting burn scars from the old Cerro Grande fire, slowing down the speed of activity. The position of the flames, lack of fuels and wind speeds will help firefighting efforts.

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