Late one Wednesday night in May, my girlfriend and I spotted some smoke and
could see lava-like fire coming from the Jemez Mountains. We knew right away
that it was a forest fire, but did not know how serious it was. We drove to my
house to ask my dad what was happening in and around the Atomic City. He didn't
know the details of the fire, so we turned on the TV to get some information about
it. Every channel was talking about the "Cerro Grande" fire that had started from a
prescribed burn. The rest of that night we never left the couch.
The television broadcasted that all Los Alamos residents should be prepared to
evacuate the following day. The phone rang and it was my dad's boss from the
laboratory; he called to say that work had been canceled for the rest of the week.
Shortly after that phone call, the news anchor on the TV announced that there
would no work for all Lab employees. We figured that the fire must have been
My dad laid lifeless on the couch, showing no emotion. One hour passed, and
still he hadn't moved. Not only was the fire consuming up the Jemez Mountains, it
was also eating my Dad. He was really quiet and that is not his normal self. My
Mom and I sat with him watching the continuous coverage of the fire on all the local
channels. The news was keeping us well informed of all changes that were taking
place on that hill north of Santa Fe.
The local stations helicopters showed us that this fire meant business. Flames
shooting hundreds of feet high torched anything and everything in its way. Tornado
like winds made it impossible for fire fighters and slurry bombers to try and stop the
raging fire. From our house we could see a huge cloud of black smoke that covered
When my Mom and I got home from school that next day, my Dad said that the
fire was creeping closer and closer to the town and
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