Los Alamos Wildfire Lookout

Watching Over the Pajarito Plateau

Perched in the heart of Los Alamos, New Mexico, this camera surveys the folded ridgelines and forested canyons of the Pajarito Plateau, a volcanic tableland cut by deep barrancas on the eastern flank of the Jemez Mountains. The expansive outward-facing view takes in miles of high-desert terrain stretching toward the Rio Grande valley below.

Part of the AlertWildfire Network

Operated in partnership with Simtable and the regional AlertWildfire detection system, the camera is one node in a wide-ranging grid of remote-controlled lookout cameras used by fire crews and emergency managers across the Southwest. Its pan-tilt-zoom optics can sweep across the surrounding landscape to pinpoint smoke plumes long before they grow into major incidents.

A Landscape Shaped by Fire and Forest

The rugged canyon country around Los Alamos is home to piñon-juniper woodlands and ponderosa pine forests that have repeatedly faced major wildfires, making continuous monitoring a community priority. The view captures the layered mesas, timbered slopes, and open sky typical of this high-elevation corner of northern New Mexico.

A Community on the Plateau

Best known as the birthplace of the Manhattan Project and home to Los Alamos National Laboratory, the town sits at over 7,300 feet, surrounded by wilderness on nearly every side. This camera offers a rare public window onto the wildland terrain that both defines the community's setting and demands its constant vigilance.