LOS ALAMOS HISTORY
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Welcome to the online exhibit of Resilience and Regrowth: Twenty Years After Cerro Grande. Explore photographs and artifacts, reflect on our journey of resilience, and share your stories of the Cerro Grande Fire.

Connect

4/20/2020

 
“I think [volunteering] really helped to bring the community together. They laughed, they cried, and they worked together. It helped people heal a little bit.”
— David Riker

How have you overcome obstacles in your life?

Craig Martin used this McLeod tool with many of the volunteer work parties he helped to organize in the months after the fire. Gift of Craig Martin. LAHS Archives, 2000.035. Los Alamos Historical Society.
Craig Martin used this McLeod tool with many of the volunteer work parties he helped to organize in the months after the fire. Gift of Craig Martin. LAHS Archives, 2000.035. Los Alamos Historical Society.
Volunteers pitched in as soon as they could. During the evacuation, 134 ham radio operators kept emergency communication channels open. Led by the Kramer family, volunteers at the Elks Lodge cooked more than 50,000 hot meals for firefighters and emergency personnel. Sue Dummer at the De Colores restaurant made 120 gallons of chile sauce every day to keep New Mexican first responders fed and happy.

As people returned to town, they wanted to help the forest regrow. The denuded hillsides threatened to allow dangerous floods in the approaching summer rains. The community organized work parties to prevent flooding, to make trails safe for use, and to plant seeds and seedlings. The volunteer response was overwhelming. More than 400 people helped on the first Saturday, and by the end of the year, some 2,000 volunteers filled 60,600 sandbags, worked on 19.2 miles of trail, and raked, seeded, and mulched more than 490 acres of land.
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    Header photo by Vint Miller, courtesy Los Alamos County.

    Were you here for the Cerro Grande Fire? Click here to share your story with us and to read stories of resilience from friends and neighbors.
    Share Your Story

    Join us in the Guest Cottage to see Resilience and Regrowth in person. The museum exhibit has the space to share even more photographs, artifacts, and personal stories.

    Thank You!
    Hero Sponsors
    Century Bank logo
    Cruiser's Custom Embroidery logo
    Del Norte Credit Union logo
    Enterprise Bank & Trust logo
    Holiday Inn Express & Suites at Los Alamos Entrada Park logo
    Los Alamos Community Foundation logo
    Jennifer Loveless Design logo
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    Thank you for your donations that made this exhibit possible!
    Melissa Arias
    Nancy and John Bartlit
    Stephen A. Becker
    Don Cavness
    Rose Chocolatier
    Rebecca Collinsworth
    Brent and Robyn Collom
    Beverly Cooper
    Hedy Dunn
    Terry Foxx
    John S. Hendricks
    Hans and Ryn Hermann
    Linda and Bob Hill
    Wendy Hoffman
    Mary Pat Kraemer
    Lemonade Living
    Judy Magelssen
    Craig Martin
    Elizabeth Martineau
    McDaniel Family
    Gordon McDonough
    Robert C. Moore
    Ben and Ruth Neal
    Joyce Nickols
    Todd Nickols
    Deborah and Rick Reiss
    John and Kit Ruminer
    Santa Fe New Mexican
    Sharon Snyder
    Georgia and Gerry Strickfaden
    Michelle Stump
    Cherie and Andy Trottier
    Todd Urbatsch
    Roger Waterman and        Emily McGay
    In creating this online exhibit, the Los Alamos Historical Society is supported by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the New Mexico Humanities Council.
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The Los Alamos Historical Society preserves, promotes, and communicates the remarkable history and inspiring stories of Los Alamos and its people for our community, for the global audience, and for future generations. 
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  • Home
  • About Us
    • Learn / Research >
      • Information For Teachers
      • Teachers and Caregivers
      • Adult Resources >
        • National History Day
        • Homestead Driving Tour
        • History at Home
        • Pioneering Women in Los Alamos >
          • Archives and Collections Technician
        • Development of the Atomic Bomb
        • Links and Resources
    • Careers/Jobs
    • Who We Are
    • Contact
  • Museum Campus
  • Programs
    • Upcoming Events
    • Lecture Series
    • Spring 2023 Tour to Trinity
    • History Award
    • Los Alamos / Japan Project
    • Volunteer Training
  • Donate
    • Membership
    • Donate to Projects
    • Legacy Society
    • Collections Donations
    • Donate Your Time- Volunteer
  • History Blog
  • Shop
    • Books
    • Museum >
      • Plan Your Visit
      • Tours
      • Oppenheimer House
      • Exhibits >
        • Online and Temporary Exhibits
      • Victory Garden
      • Explore Los Alamos
      • Archive >
        • About the Archive
        • Research Appointments
        • Inside the Archives
        • Share Your Stories
        • COVID-19 Collecting
    • Children's Books & Gifts
    • Apparel
    • Gifts