Fire fully contained with no environmental or health hazards
At approximately 3 p.m. Wednesday (June 11), a multi-agency wildland fire team responded to a small grass and shrub fire at the Laboratory's Technical Area 39, commonly known as Ancho Canyon. By 10 p.m. Wednesday, the fire was fully contained. Fire crews monitored the situation throughout the night, putting out a few spot fires as they occurred.
A full inquiry into the cause of the fire is still under way. Preliminary information is that the fire began near a vessel designed to contain projectile-based shockwave experiments. The fire was probably caused by an equipment failure during performance testing of a high-velocity valve that is part of the vessel system. The vessel system is an experimental apparatus under research and development for eventual deployment and experiments at the Nevada Test Site.
A solid propellant, similar to gunpowder, is used to close a specialized valve at very high speeds. When the valve failed, hot gas escaped and ignited some nearby grasses. Initially, personnel on the scene attempted to put the fire out, however it eventually grew too large for their limited resources and the Los Alamos Fire Department was called.
Approximately 40 firefighters from the Los Alamos Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Park Service, Santa Clara Pueblo, and the Laboratory quickly responded to the fire with a variety of equipment including Forest Service air tankers that made two precautionary fire-retardant drops. An over-flight Thursday morning revealed no hot spots outside the 15-acre burned area.
The Laboratory follows rigorous procedures at all firing sites, both open-air and containment sites, and does not conduct open-air operations during adverse weather such as red-flag, or high-wind conditions.
The Laboratory has paused explosives operations for the next few days to conserve firefighting resources. The Laboratory is currently doing a critique of this event and will implement corrective actions as appropriate. Operations should resume by early next week.
