

Los Alamos is an area long prone to wildfires and one which has only recently become a major specter of attention for this type of environmental activity given the modern establishment of Los Alamos National Laboratory, birthplace of the Atomic Bomb. The Cerro Grande fire destroyed over 400 homes in the town and around 200 structures at the lab. Originally this incident was a prescribed burn that went wrong, with the area’s strong spring winds and potential for lightning storms contributing to the eventual 48,000 acre fire.