LOS ANGELES (AFP) ? Fire crews in Los Alamos, New Mexico, began targeted burns Wednesday along the western edge of a major US nuclear laboratory to remove fuels as a massive wildfire raged nearby.
Los Alamos National Laboratory will be closed Wednesday and Thursday "because of risks presented by the Las Conchas Fire and the mandatory evacuation of Los Alamos town site," the laboratory announced on its website.
About 350 firefighters, five helicopters and 12 trucks are battling the flames across 69,000 acres (27,920 hectares) of wildfire. So far, firefighters have contained three percent of the blaze, according to NewMexico authorities.
"Observers may notice increased smoke coming from the LANL border. At this time, there is no wildfire on laboratory property," the nuclear lab's website read.
Some 11,800 employees work at the historic lab, where the atomic bomb was developed during World War II.
Thousands of people have been forced from their homes in the Los Alamos area and 12 homes have burned, according to the fire department.
On Tuesday, LANL director Charles McMillan said that all nuclear and hazardous materials were out of danger.
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