The Las Conchas Fire stood at 92,735 acres Wednesday, but some favorable winds and a massive effort by firefighters brought a hint of progress.

The fire was officially listed as 3 percent contained. Despite the mandatory evacuation order for Los Alamos, a few dozen residents have stayed behind.

Los Alamos Police Chief Wayne Torpy isn't happy about the situation, but he's not planning to arrest them.

"There really is no specific penalty for failing to leave in a mandatory evacuation order," Torpy said. "What we're trying to do here is use the mandatory evacuation order to emphasize to people how important it is for them to leave for their own safety. When they don't leave, they add an extra burden on us, the law enforcement, the firefighters or National Guard people that are on the ground."

Torpy said emergency personnel have been door to door twice and registered those who've stayed. If the fire does enter the community, they'll go back to make sure all the residents get out safely. "But by not going, they are taking up time that we could be doing something to help those who have to be here to serve the community. I urge them to go. This fire is not over."

A fire veteran

Smoke from the Las Conchas Fire filled the air behind Cecil Bingham as he stood in his backyard on 47th Street.

It is the fourth major wildfire he's gone through since he moved to Los Alamos in 1952. The area has seen a total of six, including the Las Conchas Fire, since then.

Sometime around 1954, he spent 16 hours fighting the Water Canyon Fire to the edge of town. Los Alamos National Laboratory and town employees had to fight fires back then because Forest Service firefighters weren't allowed in, he said. "I was a lot younger then," said Bingham, 88, a retired Atomic Energy Commission engineer.

He also went through the Oso Fire in 1998 and the Cerro Grande Fire in 2000. He stayed put at his home for each of them. As Cerro Grande torched homes near his, he was seen watering his roof and a nearby tall pine tree. "I could hear lawn mowers blowing up, even hear ammunition exploding," he said.

This time, after the mandatory evacuation was called, he spent the first two nights at the Best Western on Trinity Drive. "I am very cautious," he said.

He stays because he has a large garden to care for and sees no reason to leave until he can see flames. The Cerro Grande Fire burned out the thickest forest fuels in a wide swath west of him, so he figures he's safer. He believes any fire will burn low through the grasses and small trees that have begun to grow or were planted by volunteers in the old Cerro Grande burn scar. "When fire is on the ground, you can fight it," he said. "When it gets in the treetops, you have to get out of the way."

Still, his truck is packed with his valuables, just in case. "You worry, but not excessively," he said.

No insurance

Mia Perotta stood on an overpass across Diamond Drive with a few of her neighbors, watching the pillars of smoke on Pajarito Mountain suddenly start rising high in the air. It was 3 p.m., and the winds were gusting.

As it turned out, the winds pushed the Las Conchas Fire embers into new spots around Pajarito Mountain, causing a scary-looking flare-up. Firefighters and some utility-line workers had to make a quick exit to safety.

Perotta was in Los Alamos during the Cerro Grande Fire and evacuated. She's not leaving this time.

She's staying because a freak hailstorm two years ago — one with hail the size of golf balls and larger — bashed into Los Alamos. It cracked windshields, dented car hoods and broke skylights on several homes, including hers. Rain ruined some of the interior. The homes were uninhabitable for awhile.

Perotta claims her insurance company canceled her policy and others because the homes were empty. She wasn't able to get a new policy while the home was under repair. "So now we're not insured," she said.

She won't leave unless she absolutely has to. She's too worried about losing her house — with no way to ever recoup the loss.

Risk versus benefit

Los Alamos National Laboratory plutonium scientist Joseph Martz sees staying with an analytical mind. "It is risk versus benefit," he said.

He evacuated during the Cerro Grande Fire. "After a few days, the worst part was the anxiety, not knowing what was burned, what was still at risk," Martz said. "The benefit is knowing what is happening."

Martz stood on a bridge across Los Alamos Canyon watching the fire and smoke flare up on Pajarito Mountain and along the edge of the canyon. Helicopters dropped slurry on the fire. A back burn set by firefighters to clear out brush and flammable materials and create a fire break in front of the Las Conchas Fire had slopped over Camp May Road into upper Los Alamos Canyon. It came within a mile of the closest Los Alamos houses, according to fire officials.

Martz was snapping pictures and posting information rapidly on his Facebook page. It's been a popular page lately. Those who stayed had a phone list going, and he had registered with the police so they knew he was in town. "I don't have a death wish," he said as firetrucks and engines rushed past.

Staying to feed the crowds

A few people Torpy doesn't mind staying are those housing and feeding firefighters, police, New Mexico National Guardsmen and other emergency personnel.

Best Western on Trinity Drive has remained open, providing a welcome reprieve and hot showers for everyone working the fire.

Denise Lane, owner of Hill Diner, also on Trinity Drive, was providing spaghetti, red chile stew and other hot meals, as were volunteers at the Elks Lodge. They did the same during the Cerro Grande Fire and evacuation.

Ruby Alexander, owner of Ruby K's Bagel Cafe, closed her restaurant when the evacuation first was called. Her family lives in White Rock, but by Tuesday night she had permission to go back into Los Alamos and prepare food for emergency workers. She, her family and a couple of employees made 350 sack lunches and handed out hundreds of bagels and pastries on Wednesday.

She said when her family first saw the smoke and flames from Las Conchas, the memory of Cerro Grande came roaring back. "It just puts that knot in your stomach, and the smells and the sounds of the helicopters," she said. "But we were well rehearsed as a community, and we'll get through this."

Taming the fire

Los Alamos County Fire Marshal Michael Thompson said crews would concentrate on keeping the fire pinned on Pajarito Mountain and prevent any more flare-ups in Los Alamos Canyon. The fire is creeping into the canyon slowly, but forest thinning in the lower canyon should keep it restrained, he said.

The fire, about three times the size of the city of Santa Fe, continued to push north toward Santa Clara and south toward Cochiti Pueblo, with the biggest growth in the fire Wednesday toward Santa Clara. A second Type 1 Incident Management Team began handling that end of the fire, setting up base camp at a Cochiti school.

Contact Staci Matlock at 986-3055 or smatlock@sfnewmexican.com.

Editors note: The burned acreage from Las Conchas Fire was updated from 80,000 to 92,000 acres at 10:45 a.m., June 30, 2011. More accurate information will become available as fire officials release it.

Visit http://tinyurl.com/3grw7ft for more photos of the Las Conchas Fire.