Wildfire shifts away from nuke facility

BOISE, Idaho -- The largest wildfire at the nation's primary nuclear research facility in recent history had been burning close to buildings containing nuclear fuel and other radioactive material, but a change in wind direction Wednesday was pushing the flames into open range at the sprawling site in Idaho, officials said.

The lightning-caused fire at the Idaho National Laboratory is one of several across the U.S. West.

Before the wind shifted, the Idaho blaze got close to several lab facilities, including one where high-level radioactive materials are studied and another holding a nuclear reactor, spokeswoman Kerry Martin said. She said she didn't know how close the flames got to those buildings.

The lab has several safety measures for wildfires often igniting in southeastern Idaho's desert rangeland, including clearing ground around each building and having several specially trained fire crews stationed around the site nearly the size of Rhode Island.

"It's not our first rodeo," Martin said. "We have fire stations, a lot of fire equipment, we have trained firefighters and equipment to cut barriers."

The wildfire igniting Monday is estimated to have burned about 172 square miles. Non-essential laboratory employees have been evacuated.

The nuclear research site includes reactors and research materials, as well as facilities for processing high-level nuclear waste and other radioactive waste.

Meanwhile, rain in a forested Arizona city helped firefighters battle a wildfire raging for days in a scenic mountain pass but raised the risk of flooding, officials said.

Up to 1 inch of rain allowed crews to directly attack the fire, extinguish flames and build containment lines in an area where nearly 3 square miles (8 square kilometers) have burned since Sunday, fire management team spokesman Steve Kliest said.

Forecasters warned of possible flooding in Flagstaff neighborhoods with aging drainage systems below the fire. Thunderstorms Wednesday and today were expected to drench fire-scarred areas of the Coconino National Forest surrounding the city, a popular mountain getaway in the largest ponderosa pine forest in the U.S.

The area had not received any significant moisture in weeks and had no previous wildfires on record. It is dense forest with lots of pine needles and grass to burn more intensely, creating a hard clay surface quickly shedding water.

A team analyzing the soil and looking at ways to stabilize it is expected to arrive this week.

"It's not an easy task, but we're going to give it our best shot," Coconino National Forest supervisor Laura Jo West said at a community meeting Tuesday. "I can't guarantee results."