Fire on the Mountain
New Mexico
Fire on the Mountain’s campaign goal: move the radioactive waste at LANL to safer storage at WIPP before the next wildfire threatens it and us. Persuade the governor to use New Mexico’s legal tools to force DOE to move it as promised.
*This image is an artist's conception of a wildfire near the actual waste storage tents at LANL.
Where We Are in January 2026
Welcome to Fire on the Mountain!
The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) stores legacy nuclear weapons waste in tents on a mesa in a wildfire zone. The danger is yours, so you should have the information that allows you to take action to protect your health, property, and our land. The federal government must finish the original mission of disposing of nuclear weapons’ waste from the lab, as it promised.
Legacy Waste at LANL Gets National Attention
The New York Times recently published Alicia Inez Guzman’s article about the unsafe storage of Cold War waste at LANL! Guzman is an investigative journalist from New Mexico. We can’t reprint it because of copyright issues, but you can access it here:
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In her article, "New Mexico Rebukes Federal Agency Over Nuclear Waste at Los Alamos," Ms. Guzman details how the federal Department of Energy (DOE) has used New Mexico for over half a century to create, detonate, and store the waste from nuclear bombs. The new story is that New Mexico’s Environment Department (NMED) has decided to insist that DOE manage this waste safely, instead of mishandling it as it historically has. The governor is listening to the NMED, and we hope changes are in progress.
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What are the changes? New Mexico is fining DOE $16 million, which isn’t as much of a sanction as it seems. DOE traditionally either pays the fines from its deep pockets or sues NMED over being fined.
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More importantly, NMED has decided to rewrite the permit and add conditions that stipulate exactly what DOE must do to show it is prioritizing the movement of LANL legacy waste to WIPP, where it will be much safer underground.
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This is a huge step. We met with the Hazardous Waste Bureau of NMED on Feb. 17 to tell them we will support them if they stand strong and don’t let the powerful DOE intimidate them. This courageous effort is NMED protecting New Mexico and insisting its peoples’ health and land be treated safely.
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See the next article below, "What We Need to Do to Win our Safety," for what we are doing now to get this done. We still need to send messages to the governor, but they will include support for this courageous stand. We’re so much closer than we have ever been! But we need to be clear: this fight isn’t over until it’s over.
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Alaina Mencinger’s story in the Santa Fe New Mexican, "New Mexican Environment Department Takes Sweeping Action Over LANL Waste," can be found here:
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexico-environment-department-takes-sweeping-action-over-lanl-waste/article_67118b5c-4456-46d5-87b4-53fcad099861.html
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What We Need to Do to Win our Safety
Recap: Our top priority is to support the NM Environment Department and the current governor and whoever will be the future governor, if necessary, in enforcing the permits that will protect us. It means continuing some of what we've been doing:
1. Current governor
Send emails to the governor, this time thanking and encouraging her to stand strong. Choose from these or use your own words:
“We thank you for directing NMED to add wording in the permit that actually defines the actions that DOE must take to prioritize moving LANL legacy waste to WIPP.”
~or~
“Thank you for fining DOE for not complying with the permit. If it doesn't take appropriate steps to remove the waste before the next wildfire, we ask you to stand firm for our protection.”
~or~
“Thank you for acting to correct DOE's risky storage of nuclear waste in the forest. If fines don't motivate DOE, we ask that you consider stronger sanctions such as not allowing DOE to use WIPP for other waste until it has removed the legacy waste stored at LANL.”
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Contact: 505-476-2200 or email https://www.governor.state.nm.us/contact-the-governor
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2. Future governor
We have presented the information to several of the candidates for governor, so they already understand the issue. Now they need to know that YOU care about this issue.
Attend campaign events for candidates for governor. Raise your hand and ask:
“As you know, legacy waste at LANL is being dangerously stored in tents in a fire zone. This waste should be moved to WIPP before other waste and prioritized. It’s not. The Governor has the authority to enforce this. If you become Governor, can we trust you to enforce the permit so that DOE must move LANL’s legacy waste before other waste can be emplaced in WIPP?”
Please write down their answer and send it to us at info@fireonthemountain.xyz. We share these answers so you can use them to inform your vote for governor in the June 2 primaries, if you wish.
Answers gathered so far:
Deb Haaland – Has been asked once so far; her answer: she is uncomfortable with the word “commit.” She won't commit to solving this.
Sam Bregman – Has been asked twice so far; his answers:
“Every lever will be used; every lever will be used” to solve this problem.
~and~
“I will absolutely enforce the laws to reduce the waste. The same thing for the Pueblos. I will hold LANL accountable.”
Deb and Sam need to be asked at as many events as possible, so we note any change in their answers over time. Every candidate, regardless of political party, also needs to be asked so they understand the importance of this issue to voters.
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Please copy these questions so you have a sample of what to ask. Once you send us their responses, we’ll compile the answers and send post them to the website.
Where We Are in January 2026
Our main focus is getting out information about this risk through presentations because,
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The public is still unaware of this issue and the risk it bears.
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We also find that community and political leaders know little about this issue.
The next most important goal is to message the governor and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) because the solution is the governor’s responsibility. She has not agreed to meet with us. We have met with NMED and continue to do so. NMED shares our concerns but isn’t acting because it isn’t getting authority from the governor.
The third goal is to make sure the candidates running for the office of governor know this issue. We've found that none of them does. If the current governor won't solve this, it will be up to the next governor to do it. Therefore, we've presented the same information you've received to three of the candidates for governor. These are the candidates who have agreed to learn about Fire On The Mountain:
Deb Haaland (D)
Sam Bregman (D)
Ken Miyagashima (I)
None of the Republican candidates has released contact info yet. We hope to inform them soon.
Why WIPP is still better than nothing.
On June 24, 2025, the Santa Fe New Mexican published an article titled: “Government Accountability Office: More than half of WIPP infrastructure in poor condition.” It illustrates why we say WIPP is not a stellar facility.
This led many readers to question why WIPP is the location of choice for the old, radioactive nuclear waste sitting in vulnerable canvas tents in a wildfire zone in the forest at Los Alamos National Labs (LANL).
The answer is that the waste is safer anywhere than in the forest in tents.
First, in WIPP it will be 2,000 ft. underground, where fires can’t reach it.
Second, if there is an explosion, an underground repository is where you want it to happen. This is because, as a Sandia Labs report on particulate plutonium says, it can’t be cleaned up. Tiny particles of plutonium, like those involved in a fire or explosion, are so small and dispersed that the lab claims it can’t be remediated. It can, however, be sealed off in a repository. That is exactly what DOE did when a drum of plutonium waste exploded inside WIPP on Valentine’s Day, 2014. Since it couldn’t be cleaned up, it was sealed off. This cost $2 billion and a 3-year closure.
This can’t be done above the surface. Land contaminated by particulate or vaporized plutonium would have to be abandoned. It would be off-limits for the 500,000 years the plutonium takes to decay. It would be a problem keeping it within the boundaries of the contaminated area because every breeze, wind, rainfall, and disruption by animals would move it off site.
This is why, with all WIPP’s faults, it is still the best place to put the unsafely stored waste outside at LANL.
Stay tuned for an explanation that explains why WIPP was never a serious attempt to store nuclear waste. It was merely a way to make the public think that there is a solution to nuclear waste.
Join Our Action Team
How to Use DOE’s Community Forums So They Don’t Use Us
“Thank you” to everyone who participated in the WIPP Community Forum on April 30 .
DOE is famous for not sharing what it’s planning. NGOs fought for community forums so people would have a way to confront DOE publicly and we ask you to use them. They are your tools for knowing what DOE has planned for you. The next community forum will be on July 30 .​
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The Risk
New Mexicans are at risk from nuclear waste that sits in the forest at Los Alamos National Labs (LANL). This highly radioactive waste is in canvas tents in a wildfire zone. It should be moved to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), which the federal government has already agreed to do. WIPP is the appropriate place to store radioactive waste because it’s not vulnerable to natural disasters.
DOEzo the Clown
* This really happened! See the video, "When Kitty Litter Caused a Nuclear Catastrophe," at Practical Engineering on YouTube.
Hillhouse, Grady. "When Kitty Litter Caused a Nuclear Catastrophe." Practical Engineering, April 15, 2025.