Cerro Pelado fire Friday (April 29) evening update: Smoke to shift over Lab and townsite this evening, wind speeds to drop

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos County and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Los Alamos Field Office update community on status of fire currently burning in Jemez Mountains

April 30, 2022

This afternoon’s 20+-mph winds are pushing the fire toward Cochiti Mesa, in a southeasterly direction as of 4:30 p.m. The smoke intensity has increased as expected, and the wind direction is predicted to change this evening, potentially pushing smoke over the Laboratory and town.

No fire danger is anticipated for the Laboratory or community at this time, but smoke may be heavy starting at approximately 5-6 p.m. The wind speeds are predicted to drop by half between 6 and 8 p.m. this evening. There are no evacuations in Los Alamos County at this time.

The Laboratory, Los Alamos County and the NNSA Field Office continue to monitor the fire as a unified response and will provide daily updates as long as they are necessary. Emergency operations managers from Los Alamos and Sandoval counties are drawing on the technical expertise of the Laboratory and NNSA, as well as that of the Los Alamos County Fire Department. Los Alamos County Fire Chief Troy Hughes reminded the community that this has no negative impact on LAFD’s ability to respond to county or Laboratory calls.

More information on the Cerro Pelado fire can be found here: