La Mesa Fire

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Archeologists precede bulldozers along the fire lines of the La Mesa Fire to identify archeological resources.

The La Mesa Fire was a destructive wildfire which burned 15,444 acres (62.5 km²) of Bandelier National Monument and part of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, USA. The fire was human-caused and began in the afternoon of June 16, 1977. The fire was contained one week later by 800 firefighters from surrounding states, but not before reaching the Laboratory's K-site and S-site, where chemical explosives were fabricated and tested. No lives were lost, but a group of 27 high-school students were rescued after becoming trapped in the back country of Bandelier. The La Mesa fire burned approximately 60 percent of the Rito de Los Frijoles drainage basin of the Pajarito Plateau, and increased awareness of the effect of wildfire on watersheds. The La Mesa fire was significant for stimulating scientific study of the effects of fire on ecosystems.