Los Alamos evacuation ordered because of wildfire

Jun 27, 4:50 PM EDT

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN 

Associated Press

A wildfire crests over the hills above Los Alamos National Labs Sunday June 26, 2011 in New Mexico. A fast-moving wildfire forced officials at the Los Alamos National Laboratory to close the site Monday. (AP Photo/Luis Sแnchez Saturno, The New Mexican)


LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) -- LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) - Authorities ordered Los Alamos evacuated Monday as a fast-growing and unpredictable wildfire bore down on the northern New Mexico town and its sprawling nuclear laboratory.

The blaze that began Sunday already had destroyed a number of homes south of the town, which is home to some 12,000 residents. It also forced closure of the nation's pre-eminent nuclear lab while stirring memories of a devastating blaze more than a decade ago that destroyed hundreds of homes and buildings in the area.

Los Alamos County fire chief Doug Tucker said the blaze Sunday night was the most active fire he had seen in his career, forcing residents near Cochiti Mesa and Las Conchas to flee with "nothing but the shirts on their back."