11,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where a wildfire has burned more than 110 square miles of land since Sunday. On Wednesday, crews began to burn a blaze to act as a barrier. The new fires are meant to protect the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where 10,000 drums–each containing 55 gallons of radioactive waste–are stored above ground.
Joining us this morning is Dr. Mai Ling, a family practitioner who lives right across the Rio Grande from Los Alamos, and says that she is concerned many more people could be in danger if the fires reach the lab.
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