Wildfire spreads near US nuclear arms laboratory

SANTA FE, N.M., June 27 (Reuters) - A raging wildfire has spread to within a mile (1.6 km) of the preeminent U.S. nuclear weapons facility, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, authorities said on Monday.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, which ensures the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, was closed on Monday due to the fire.

Officials have established an emergency operations center and have dispatched emergency crews across the lab to protect key facilities and materials, Los Alamos Laboratory spokesman Kevin Roark said.

Protected areas include all hazardous and radioactive facilities and our proton accelerator and supercomputing centers, Roark said.

"We're not going to back off until the lab is in the clear," Roark told Reuters.

The blaze has grown to 43,597 acres (58,111 hectares) and caused the evacuation of hundreds of people, with thousands encouraged to evacuate voluntarily, authorities said.

The Las Conchas fire, which started Sunday afternoon, continues to start spot fires up to a half mile (0.8 km) ahead of the main fire line, said Lawrence Lujan, a spokesman with the Santa Fe National Forest.

The blaze has spread to within one mile of the lab's southwest boundary, Lujan said.

Red flag conditions, the highest fire alert, are expected to feed the growing blaze throughout the day. (Editing by Karen Brooks and Greg McCune)