Wildfire expands near Washington state nuclear facility

The fire forced the evacuation Wednesday of thousands of residents

Thousands evacuated; government says no radiation released

June 29, 2000
Web posted at: 10:38 a.m. EDT (1438 GMT)

In this story: Radiation monitoring urged Hot, windy weather hampers firefighters RELATED STORIES, SITES

HANFORD, Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday that no radiation has been released from the Hanford nuclear reservation despite a fast-moving brush fire that has grown to 200,000 acres (312 square miles) and forced thousands of evacuations near the former weapons production facility in southeastern Washington state.

"There has been no sign of radioactive or hazardous materials being dispersed," department spokeswoman Jackie Hanson told CNN. She said the fire -- which has been burning on and near the nuclear reservation -- is "burning away from the tanks" where nuclear waste is stored.

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"The tanks are in absolutely no danger at this time," Hanson said. "The winds are blowing the fire away from the tanks." Nevertheless, Hanford ordered nonessential personnel not to report to work because of the fire.

While the size of the blaze had increased dramatically, it remained west of anything potentially sensitive, said Don Aunspaugh, a spokesman for the Department of Energy Hanford Joint Information Center.

Hundreds more firefighters are being brought in to fight the flames

Radiation monitoring urged

The fire forced the evacuation Wednesday of some 2,500 residents in the town of Benton City on the Yakima River, about 10 miles west of Richland, he said.

Some of the 8,000 residents of nearby West Richland also were evacuated on Wednesday but were later allowed to return to their homes, Aunspaugh said.

There were no confirmed reports of injuries caused by the blaze, but Hanson said at least 36 houses and other structures in the area have been damaged.

Smoke sent two workers to a hospital for treatment Wednesday, said Michael Turner, spokesman for Fluor Hanford, a reservation contractor. About 1,700 Hanford employees were either sent home Wednesday or told not to report for work.

Although the Energy Department said there were no known waste releases, an anti-nuclear group warned that the fire could burn radioactive soils and spew contaminated particles into the air.

"We urge state officials to independently monitor to protect the public and firefighters from the hazards of airborne radioactive contaminated particles,'' said Gerald Pollet, director of Heart of America Northwest.

The fire was ignited Tuesday by a fatal collision

Hot, windy weather hampers firefighters

The fire was ignited on Tuesday by a fatal collision near the intersections of state highways 240 and 24 on the Hanford reservation. It began spreading rapidly out of control Wednesday on the sagebrush plain.

The flames, fueled by 100-degree temperatures and winds gusting to 30 mph, overwhelmed about 350 firefighters Wednesday. About 600 more from across the region were expected to arrive soon, aided by airplanes and helicopters from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The Red Cross set up shelters in nearby Kennewick, Washington, and Gov. Gary Locke declared a state of emergency in Benton County, activating the National Guard to assist in the evacuations.

The 560-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation on the Columbia River was created as part of the Manhattan Project in the 1940s, which developed the first atomic bomb.

It was a plutonium production complex for four decades and is now involved in the world's largest environmental cleanup project.

Last month a huge wildfire in New Mexico raced across the Los Alamos reservation that houses the United States' premier nuclear weapons laboratory.

The destruction of the vegetation in the Los Alamos area caused concerns that seasonal rains could sweep radioactive-contaminated soil into the Rio Grande River.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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