Non-essential employees have been evacuated
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Some employees have been evacuated from the Idaho National Laboratory in southeastern Idaho while crews fight a wildfire burning near the nuclear energy research site.
INL officials say non-essential employees were evacuated Tuesday, mainly because of wind changes and smoke from the fire, which is burning on about 10 square miles (16 square kilometers) of desert near the center of the 890-square mile (1432 kilometer) property, away from the buildings that make up the INL complex.
Non-essential employees were evacuated from the advanced test reactor complex, the waste treatment units and other buildings.
The Bureau of Land Management says a lightning strike started the fire Monday evening near INL’s eastern boundary. Fire crews from the Bureau of Land Management and the Idaho National Laboratory are working together to fight the fire.
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