Potential damage to the site cannot be assessed while the fire rages.
released later in the day by the National Science Foundation's National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory , which operates the site.NOIRLab says it can't assess damage to the facility while the blaze continues.
"Safety remains our top priority," officials wrote in the statement."We are working with the firefighters at the site to assess the damage and will share details about the facilities as we learn more. We remain in an active fire situation with rapidly changing conditions." Last frame before the webcam cut out at the VLBA antenna on Kitt Peak. This is the next one north from the 12m I use, and of course near all the other KP telescopes that 100s of other scientists use. All of the webcams I know of on KP are now down. Waiting & hoping for good news. pic.twitter.com/p0Z8V4MinAAt about 2 a.m. local time on Friday, the fire crested a ridge that holds four of the observatory's telescopes: the Hiltner 2.4-meter Telescope, McGraw-Hill 1.
The Contreras Fire began on June 11 with a lightning strike in the Baboquivari Mountains south of the observatory. As of Friday morning, after less than a week, the blaze had covered nearly 11,500 acres , according to a
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