Emergency responders from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos County Fire Department, U.S. National Forest Service, U.S. National Park Service and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will hold a drill on April 5 to focus attention on interagency cooperation, restrictions and intra-agency communications in the event of a wild land fire.
Three-dimensional models of the impacted area will be used in the Emergency Operations Center located at the Laboratory to plan required response. A helicopter tactical crew and aircraft stationed at the Interagency Fire Base at the Laboratory's Technical Area 49 will also participate in the drill.
"As everyone knows, we're entering an extremely dangerous - and early - fire season," said Manny L'Esperance, a Laboratory emergency manager and a coordinator of the April 5 drill. "We will use this drill to ensure the inter-agency cooperation and communications are in place to increase our effectiveness in the event of a wild land fire in this area."
Members of the news media are invited to observe the drill, both at the Emergency Operations Center and at the Interagency Fire Base. Media representatives who wish to attend should contact Linn Tytler at Los Alamos National Laboratory, 505-664-0400 no later than Monday, April 3 to make the necessary arrangements.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.