Posted by Adam Schallau on June 27, 2011 at 12:19 AM
A new fire was sparked today and it has quickly consumed 3,500 acres and is advancing towards Los Alamos and White Rock. Los Alamos and White Rock are under voluntary evacuations and areas west of there including Bandelier National Monument are under mandatory evacuation orders.
As many of you know, RMNP member Phil Noll lives in Los Alamos. I ask that you keep him and his wife, Monica, in your thoughts and prayers.
Los Alamos is now under mandatory evacuation orders...not good.
Smoke is moving into Taos and the surrounding area. We won't be directly impacted by the forest, but the smoke is a major concern for many here. Many people became very sick after breathing the smoke from the Cerro Grande fire in May 2000 when it burned parts of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Posted by Pam Colander on June 28, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Phil and I were in contact about 15 minutes prior to him evacuating his home. According to the most recent mapping, the fire has not burned the area where he lives.
RMNP also has another (inactive) member, Pat McCormick and his wife JoAnn Lysne, who live in Los Alamos. I have not been able to track down his contact information, but I do know that Los Alamos was successfully evacuated...they didn't even have a single traffic accident.
Posted by Pam Colander on June 28, 2011 at 5:27 PM
I just got an email from Phil. They are fine and staying with friends.
Posted by Phillip Noll on June 28, 2011 at 7:00 PM
Phil here, safe and sound. Well, that 2nd part is debatable! Sunday evening when I saw a wall of flames coming over the ridge just a couple miles away, we decided to make a run for it. We packed up as much as we could in terms of family photos, important papers, clothes, and our dogs and cat. Its hard to decide what parts of your life to leave behind.
This fire is indeed a monster. The winds have been so erratic and constantly above 15-25mph that this fire is burning in all directions. The wind shifted on Monday from SW to S-SE which sent the fire just north of White Rock (A small bedroom community where I live). Unfortunately that means the fire was headed to Los Alamos townsite and the National Laboratory. So far only 1 acre of National Lab land has burned and it was extinguished quickly. They have huge incentive to protect the national lab and they are doing an amazing job.
11 years ago we had the Cerro Grande fire that the NPS set as a "controlled" burn that burned many homes and parts of LANL. That fire ended up being 47,000 acres after several months of burning. This fire (called the Las Conchas fire) burned 43,000 acres in less than one day! As of now its at 61,000 acres.
While I am glad that my home appears to be safe, I am absolutely devestated by the loss of such beautiful forests. Bandelier has been hard hit and is closed indefinitely. It will never look the same. I'm hearing thunder right now and I hope its more than just a tease. We so desperately need the rain!
Thanks again for the well-wishes!! It is much appreciated. Please pray for rain and an end to all of these fires!!!
Posted by Pam Colander on June 28, 2011 at 9:45 PM
Glad to hear you are OK Phil! Poor Bandelier... we could see remnants of the 2000 fire last year when we visited. I've never been a very good dancer but I'm doing my best rain dance constantly!
Discussion
12 repliesAs many of you know, RMNP member Phil Noll lives in Los Alamos. I ask that you keep him and his wife, Monica, in your thoughts and prayers.
Joe Rogers
Smoke is moving into Taos and the surrounding area. We won't be directly impacted by the forest, but the smoke is a major concern for many here. Many people became very sick after breathing the smoke from the Cerro Grande fire in May 2000 when it burned parts of Los Alamos National Laboratory.
RMNP also has another (inactive) member, Pat McCormick and his wife JoAnn Lysne, who live in Los Alamos. I have not been able to track down his contact information, but I do know that Los Alamos was successfully evacuated...they didn't even have a single traffic accident.
This fire is indeed a monster. The winds have been so erratic and constantly above 15-25mph that this fire is burning in all directions. The wind shifted on Monday from SW to S-SE which sent the fire just north of White Rock (A small bedroom community where I live). Unfortunately that means the fire was headed to Los Alamos townsite and the National Laboratory. So far only 1 acre of National Lab land has burned and it was extinguished quickly. They have huge incentive to protect the national lab and they are doing an amazing job.
11 years ago we had the Cerro Grande fire that the NPS set as a "controlled" burn that burned many homes and parts of LANL. That fire ended up being 47,000 acres after several months of burning. This fire (called the Las Conchas fire) burned 43,000 acres in less than one day! As of now its at 61,000 acres.
While I am glad that my home appears to be safe, I am absolutely devestated by the loss of such beautiful forests. Bandelier has been hard hit and is closed indefinitely. It will never look the same. I'm hearing thunder right now and I hope its more than just a tease. We so desperately need the rain!
Thanks again for the well-wishes!! It is much appreciated. Please pray for rain and an end to all of these fires!!!