LA Fire Update

From our dear friend who has stayed up in Los Alamos during this time here's the latest news we've received.

At the end of day 6 of the Las Conchas fire, the total acreage is in excess of 100,000 acres, setting a new record for New Mexico wildfires. The fire is still growing aggressively to the north and west of Los Alamos, with several hot spots burning within sight of town. The County has not announced when they will open up the town for residents to return. There is still a lot of work occurring, from clearing fire breaks to building access roads to reach hot spots north and west of town. I really thought that they would start letting people in this weekend, but am hearing otherwise, like Monday at the earliest. The Las Conchas fire continues to be very active outside of Loa Alamos County. Please continue to pray for those responding to the fire, more crews are on the way and for the communities that are still threatened by the fire. Los Alamos appears to be spared, but others are still in the fire's path. Last evening I went up on North Mesa after dark to observe the panorama of the night sky. It was sad to see a ring of fire encircling the town on the North, West and South. While this fire doesn't have the same scaring impact visible from Los Alamos that the Cerro Grande fire (back in 2000) did, there will be other places in the Jemez mountains that will have the visible impact far more significant than what Cerro Grande left behind.

Please keep praying for this situation.