The following bulletin was sent out by Los Alamos County
Los
Alamos, NM Los Alamos County officials are reporting the fire is now
threatening Los Alamos. They are ordering a mandatory evacuation which
will begin and proceed in this order: Group 1: Western, Quemazon,
Ponderosa; Group 2: North Community, Barranca Mesa, North Mesa; Group 3:
East of Diamond and the remainder of the town site. White Rock is NOT
being evacuated at this time. Residents in Los Alamos should NOT go to
White Rock to stay in case it is later evacuated.
Residents are urged to prepare now to be ready to go when their
Group is called using Reverse 911. The best sources of information about
Group releases for the evacuation will continue to be through news
outlets. The County is first evacuating those residents who are the
closest to the immediate threat of fire.
Residents should wait for the
automated Reverse 911 phone call. Once called, proceed in an orderly
fashion to police control points and follow any additional instructions
to safely leave the County. National Guard and State Police will be
assisting with the evacuation process.
Residents in Los Alamos in the Downtown, North Community, Quemazon,
Eastern, and Western areas use either the Truck Route (East Jemez Rd)
or Trinity Drive to NM502. Royal Crest residents would use the Truck
Route to SR 4 to NM502. Residents on the mesas (North Mesa, Barranca
Mesa) use the graded road in the bottom of Rendija Canyon, the same
emergency route used during the Cerro Grande Fire in May 2000. The road
has been graded today and the gate through San Ildefonso property to NM
502 is open. Take only your most essential belongings, including
medication and pets. Large vehicles such as RVs should not attempt to
use the road through Rendija Canyon due to the low water crossings in
the road. The road is graded to accommodate passenger cars, trucks or
SUVs, not oversized vehicles. Residents in White Rock should use SR 4 to
NM 502 to evacuate if that becomes necessary.
The Big Rock Santa Claran Event Center is open as a shelter for
those who are voluntarily evacuating with no accommodations. Residents
who have friends and family in the area are asked to relocate to stay
with them in order to keep shelter space available for those who most
need it. The County is coordinating with regional resources to open more
shelters. Those without transportation should call 505-661-RIDE (Atomic
City Transit, the County’s transit system). They will start arranging
busses to pick up those who need bus service.
Los Alamos County will continue to be on “essential services” only
staffing on Tuesday, due to the continued need to address the emergency
related to the wildfire.
Residents are asked to seek
information about the size of the fire or other general fire updates on
the USFS webpage rather than calling the County. Links to public
information about the Las Conchas fire can be found on the News page at
www.losalamosnm.us.
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