LAS VEGAS (AP) — Officials say a wildfire that scorched part of a vast former national nuclear proving ground northwest of Las Vegas didn't affect any radioactively contaminated areas.
Nevada National Security Site spokeswoman Tracy Bower said Tuesday the lightning-sparked fire in a remote and rugged western portion of the former Nevada Test Site was declared extinguished or "cold" on Monday.
Bower says a security site paramedic received a leg injury in an all-terrain vehicle crash during the firefighting, but is expected to recover.
Site officials say the fire started Aug. 24 and blackened almost 8 square miles of cheat grass and sagebrush.
Bower says there were no structures or test facilities in the fire area.
More than 1,000 nuclear detonations occurred at the test site from 1951 to 1992. The area now hosts non-nuclear experiments and safety training.