In her photo-essay, Foxx will chronicle the ecological changes that have occurred around Los Alamos in the four months since the Cerro Grande Fire. She will compare the recovery with that following the La Mesa, Oso and Dome fires in past years and show the process of recovery of burned areas within the first 25 years. Due to limited parking, transportation by the Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico taxi is encouraged. Work continues on the flood retention structure located upstream of the Lab's Technical Area 18.
Crews plan to have completed all work on the structure within a few weeks.
The structure will remain in place for at least five years. Laboratory hydrologists currently are investigating whether the structure already has been useful in helping stem further migration of cyanide from slurry used to fight the Cerro Grande Fire that has been washed downstream in runoff after major storm events. Cyanide concentrations in some runoff waters was measured at five times higher than the level necessary to kill fish. Hydrologists released storm water contaminant data recently during a public meeting. The Laboratory's Ombuds Program Office, in conjunction with Project Recovery, is presenting the seventh in an ongoing series designed to assist those directly or indirectly affected by the fire.