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Las Conchas fire spreads 4 miles farther north

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags

Update at 11:58 a.m. MT, June 30:

The incident management team provided some updated information, increasing the number of personnel assigned to the fire from 452 to 752, and also the number of acres, from 69,555 to “approximately 92,735”. There are no changes in the number of helicopters, dozers, or engines. They are still not specifying how many air tankers are being used or are available.

Sky crane helicopter at heli-well
Air-Crane helicopter drafting water out of heli-well at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Photo: Los Alamos National Laboratory

Below is the “point” weather forecast for Los Alamos, NM, from 1:00 p.m. MT, June 30 until noon on Saturday, July 2. The 18-20 mph winds out of the southwest on Thursday afternoon will keep firefighters busy around Los Alamos and on the north end of the fire. However the 61% cloud cover may moderate the fire behavior a bit. The relative humidity, in the mid-teens on Thursday, will not be as extreme as it was earlier in the week when it was in the single digits. Friday calls for lower RH’s and decreasing winds.

Click the forecast below to enlarge it.

Wx Forecast Los Alamos 1200 6-30-2011
Clilck to enlarge. Weather forecast Los Alamos, current as of 12:01 p.m., 6-30-2011. The wind “barbs” point in the direction the wind will be FROM.

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Las Conchas fire vicinity fire map 0245 6-30-2011
Las Conchas fire map showing heat detected by satellites at 2:45 a.m. MT, 6-30-2011. The red areas were actively burning at that time, while the yellow was within the last 12 hours, and the black was within the last 24 hours. MODIS
Las Conchas fire map at Los Alamos 2330 6-29-2011
Click to enlarge. Zoomed in map of the Las Conchas fire in the Los Alamos area, 11:30 p.m., 6-29-2011. USFS/Google Earth

The Las Conchas fire near Los Alamos, New Mexico was very active Wednesday afternoon as you can see from the maps, spreading an additional four miles farther north, crossing from Sandoval County into Rio Arriba County. The fire moved toward the east becoming a little closer to the town of Los Alamos. It was also active on the southwest side.

Another map is below.

Las Conchas fire map 0245 6-30-2011
Click to enlarge. Las Conchas fire map showing heat detected by satellites at 2:45 a.m. MT, 6-30-2011. The red areas were actively burning at that time, while the yellow was within the last 12 hours, and the black was within the last 24 hours. MODIS

The incident management team estimated at 10 p.m. Wednesday night that a total of 80,000 acres had burned, which is probably 5,000 to 10,000 less than the actual total on Thursday morning. Wednesday morning they were calling it 69,555 acres.

Resources on the fire include, 452 personnel, 4 dozers, 28 engines, and 5 helicopters (they did not specify the number of air tankers available)

Information about evacuations can be found at InciWeb.

We will post additional information and updated maps of the Las Conchas fire here today as developments occur.

Typos, let us know HERE, and specify which article. Please read the commenting rules before you post a comment.

Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

One thought on “Las Conchas fire spreads 4 miles farther north”

  1. Thanks for all these updates, Bill. My grandfather lives on Arizona Ave (his house burned completely during the Cerro Grande and he has since rebuilt) and your blog has been the best resource for following along. I’m hanging on every update.

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