Breaking:Firefighters beat back flames on plutonium lab property 27 Jun 2011 A raging wildfire in Los Alamos on Monday briefly entered the property of the nation's preeminent nuclear facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory, a vast complex that houses research laboratories and a plutonium facility. A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for the town of Los Alamos, which has a population of about 12,000. Firefighters were able to douse the flames on the one-acre "spot fire" just inside the southwestern boundary of the lab site, about 25 miles outside Santa Fe, authorities said.

Los Alamos National Laboratory moving to protect radioactive materi... --Up to 2,500 evacuated as blaze nears site where world's first atomic bomb was built 27 Jun 2011 A raging wildfire spread to within one mile of the nation's preeminent nuclear weapons facility on Monday, as officials at Los Alamos National Laboratory scrambled to make sure that radioactive and hazardous material were protected from the wind-driven fire that has forced the installation to close. The number one priority at the moment is to make sure all the radioactive and hazardous material is protected, Janet Bettinger, deputy manager of finance, told NBC News. She said she couldn't confirm that it is protected at this point. The fire has burned around 44,000 acres and was threatening buildings, power lines and natural gas lines, Bettinger said.