New Mexico wildfire poised to be worst in state history

The Las Conchas wildfire sent up towering plumes of smoke, rained down ash and sparked a spot fire at a nuclear lab where scientists conducted underground tests of radioactive explosives 50 years ago. The fire has charred 93,000 acres of forest and is poised to become the worst in New Mexico history.

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July 2, 2011

A videographer records the Valles Caldera National Preserve, burned by the Las Conchas fire near Los Alamos, N.M. With firefighters holding their ground against the largest wildfire ever in New Mexico, officials at the nation's premier nuclear weapons laboratory and in the surrounding city planned for the return of thousands of evacuated employees and residents.

Jae C. Hong / AP

July 1, 2011

A deer crosses the street as smoke from the Las Conchas fire fills the air in Los Alamos, N.M.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 30, 2011

Firefighters tackle hot spots during the Las Conchas wildfire near Los Alamos, N.M.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 29, 2011

Smoke rolls up behind the United Methodist Church on Highway 30 between Santa Clara Pueblo and Espanola, N.M. The raging Las Conchas wildfire has left the leader of one Native American community with concerns about cultural sites and an important water source for his people.

Natalie Guillen / New Mexican via AP

June 30, 2011

A television producer watches smoke from the Las Conchas wildfire near Los Alamos, N.M. With firefighters bracing for another day of strong, erratic winds, the wildfire near the nation's premier nuclear weapons laboratory was poised to become the largest forest fire in state history.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 30, 2011

Charred forest smolders from the Las Conchas wildfire near Los Alamos. The fire has charred nearly 93,000 acres of thick, pine woodlands on the slopes of the Jemez Mountains since erupting on Sunday near the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and was poised to become New Mexico's largest wildfire ever by day's end.

Eric Draper / Reuters

June 30, 2011

Crew members mop up hot spots during the Las Conchas wildfire near Los Alamos.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 30, 2011

Fire crew members search for hot spots in the forest charred by the Las Conchas wildfire near Los Alamos.

Eric Draper / Reuters

June 30, 2011

A rainbow appears in the sky over Los Alamos, which has been evacuated due to a massive wildfire.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 29, 2011

A wave of smoke billows and fills a canyon as the Las Conchas wildfire creeps into a canyon.

Morgan Petroski / AP

June 29, 2011

The sun shines through the smoke from the Las Conchas wildfire near the Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. The wildfire raged largely unchecked for a fourth day near one of the nation's top nuclear arms production plants on Wednesday, but firefighters finally gained some ground in corralling the flames.

Eric Draper / Reuters

June 29, 2011

Smoke from the Las Conchas Fire builds in the background as Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker, left, and Los Alamos Police Chief Wayne Torpy talk in New Mexico.

Eric Draper / Reuters

June 29, 2011

Los Alamos Fire Chief Doug Tucker shows a map of the Las Conchas Fire during a news conference in Los Alamos, N.M. The blaze had grown to more than 108 square miles by Wednesday morning.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 28, 2011

Helicopters at the Santa Fe Airport get ready to fight the Las Conchas Fire in Santa Fe, N.M.

Eddie Moore / AP

June 28, 2011

Workers clear the forest of brush and fallen fuel wood in the Los Alamos Canyon area near Los Alamos, N.M.

Jim Thompson / AP

June 28, 2011

Mark Purtill leads his two Perchon Shire draft horses into stalls at the Santa Fe Equestrian Center in Santa Fe, N.M. They and others had to evacuate Los Alamos because of the Las Conchas Fire and the Equestrian Center is housing many of the animals.

Eddie Moore / AP

June 28, 2011

Sally Wilkins of the Los Alamos, New Mexico Friends of Shelter puts a tag around the neck of Osita a spayed one-year-old male Heeler Shepard mix at the Santa Fe, New Mexico Animal Shelter. Osita will be kept temporarily at the shelter along with several pets that have been relocated during the wildfire in northern New Mexico.

Clyde Mueller / AP

June 27, 2011

This image provided by NASA shows an image taken by a crew member aboard the International Space Station, flying at an altitude of 235 statute miles, exposed this still photograph of a major fire in the Jemez Mountains of the Santa Fe National Forest in north-central New Mexico. The fire is just southwest of Los Alamos National Laboratories.

/ AP

June 28, 2011

Smoke from the Las Conchas Fire fills the sky near the Los Alamos Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 28, 2011

Flames from the Las Conchas Fire burn in Los Alamos, N.M., in the Jemez Mountains.

Eddie Moore / AP

June 28, 2011

Smoke from the Las Conchas Fire lingers over Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, N.M.

Eddie Moore / AP

June 28, 2011

Flames move toward Los Alamos, N.M., in the Jemez Mountains.

Eddie Moore / Albuquerque Journal via AP

June 28, 2011

The bridge that separates the town of Los Alamos, N.M., from Los Alamos National Laboratory is shrouded in smoke.

/ Reuters

June 28, 2011

Fire trucks are seen at Los Alamos National Laboratory as fire rages on a nearby hillside.

Adolphe Pierre-Louis / Albuquerque Journal via AP

June 28, 2011

Firefighters prepare to go to the Pajarito Mountain ski area near Los Alamos, N.M.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 28, 2011

Brian Newnam gives his plants a last bit of water before leaving his home in Los Alamos, N.M.

/ Reuters

June 28, 2011

University of California at San Diego's engineering institute, located at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, is seen Tuesday.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 28, 2011

A wildfire burns near Los Alamos, N.M. Thousands of residents calmly fled from the town that is home to the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory, ahead of an approaching wildfire.

Jae C. Hong / AP

June 27, 2011

Flames burn the hills above Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Craig Fritz / Reuters

June 27, 2011

The sun filters through thick smoke in the hillls near Los Alamos, N.M.

Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

June 27, 2011

Carissa Pittman consoles her daughter, Emily, 15, while her husband, Pete, in the car, and son, Allen, 21, prepare to leave Los Alamos, N.M., because of the wildfire.

Jane Phillips / The New Mexican via AP

June 27, 2011

The Morrison family, Dee, top left, Taylor, 4, right, Bob, and Jeni, center, pack up their belongings following a mandatory evacuation ordered for Los Alamos, N.M., as the rapidly growing Las Conchas Fire nears. The blaze, which began Sunday, destroyed 30 structures south of Los Alamos and forced the closure of the Los Alamos Nuclear Laboratory.

Craig Fritz / AP

June 27, 2011

Joseph Hickey, who works at Los Alamos National Labs puts his dog Millie into his truck as his beagle Sashi looks on.

Pat Vasquez-Cunningham / The Albuquerque Journal via AP

June 27, 2011

Traffic backs up on Diamond Drive as thousands of residents leave their homes due to a wildfire burning near Los Alamos, N.M.

Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

June 27, 2011

New Mexico state police, National Guard troops and Los Alamos police guard a road block near White Rock.

Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

June 27, 2011

Smoke from the Las Conchas fire is seen from Ponderosa, N.M.

Morgan Petroski / AP

June 27, 2011

A flare up on the heel of the Las Conchas Fire as viewed from the west in New Mexico.

Morgan Petroski / AP

June 27, 2011

A sign reads "Campers go home. Fire." in Jemez Springs, N.M.

Morgan Petroski / AP

June 27, 2011

Los Alamos Police Chief Wayne Torpy, right, talks about voluntary evacuations from the area stemming from the Las Conchas Fire near Los Alamos during a news conference.

Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

June 27, 2011

Gary Thayer takes out a cooler of food as he prepares to leave following the mandatory evacuation of Los Alamos, N.M.

Craig Fritz / AP

June 27, 2011

The sun pokes through smoke from a wild fire burning near Los Alamos, N.M.

Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

June 27, 2011

Judy Luna, former owner of Home Run Pizza, says goodbye to her horses, Anubis, Wheeties and Dancer at Los Alamos stables in Los Alamos, N.M. Luna was able to load two of her horses earlier in the day. Anubis is injured and the other two horses were not able to be loaded. Luna is trusting a neighbor to check on the horses.

Jane Phillips / AP

June 27, 2011

Samuel Lechuga , right, of Espanola, N.M., evacuates horses from the North Mesa Stables in Los Alamos, N.M., where about 200 horses are boarded.

Pat Vasquez-Cunningham / AP

June 26, 2011

A wildfire crests over the hills above Los Alamos National Labs in New Mexico.

Luis Sanchez Saturno / AP

June 26, 2011

A plume of smoke towering above the Jemez Mountains can be seen from miles away in Rio Rancho, N.M.

Susan Montoya Bryan / AP

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