Second wildfire on test site land is contained
Firefighters contained the last of two wildfires Monday burning on the Nevada National Security Site, the former nuclear test site 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, since July 5.
More than 100 responders battled the fire on the ground, through airdrops, and by creating a 16.5 mile buffer around the five square miles of burn area.
Lightning sparked the fires, and the smaller one was contained by Friday after it had consumed 1,300 acres. However, the larger fire was only 25 percent contained at that time.
In addition to security-site firefighters, Bureau of Land Management personnel joined the effort and BLM equipment was used. The BLM's firefighters and equipment have been released.
Security-site firefighters will continue to attack any remaining isolated fires and hot spots. It is expected to take more than a week to completely extinguish the fire and watch for any potential flare-ups.
