Smoke billows into the town of Los Alamos, NM on the evening of June 26th, 2011. The Las Conchas Fire consumed more than 43,000 acres in the first 14 hours, equating to a rate of spread of approximately one acre per second. Many buildings were lost in the fire, but the town of Los Alamos was spared.
Glowing embers from the Las Conchas Fire speckle the hillside while fuel in the drainage continues to burn well into the night.
A Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane helicopter drops fire retardant on a hot spot that crews have been battling from below.