Snow fell Saturday during the Wildfire 2012 public information event at the Community Building at 20th Street and Central Avenue. Officials from Los Alamos County Emergency Management, Los Alamos Fire Department, Bandelier Fire Department, Valle Caldera Fire Department, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the U.S. Forest Service were among the agencies on hand to answer questions and provide the public with safety information related to this year’s upcoming fire season. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

During Saturday’s Wildfire 2012 event, a crowd gathered around a Simtable owned by Los Alamos National Laboratory, which utilyzes technology developed for wildfire training, incident command, and community outreach that combines hardware and software to create simulations on sand. With Simtable – 

Google Earth and GIS data are projected onto the sand surface, allowing the user to hand-model 

the terrain elevation. Changes in the sand surface are an interactive part of the model, so that if a fire is simulated in the sand, the model will show where it is most likely to spread, as well as where traffic will backlog during an evacuation. Simtable is a company that got its start at the Santa Fe Complex and received a $100,000 award from the Los Alamos National Security, LLC Venture Acceleration Fund. A larger Simtable was used at LANL’s Emergency Operation Center during last summer’s Las Conchas Fire to map the massive blaze. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Los Alamos Deputy Fire Chief Justin Grider discusses details of last summer’s Las Conchas Fire with County Council Chair Sharon Stover. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Los Alamos County Emergency Management Office Specialist Jessica Blea and Emergency Management Coordinator Philmont Taylor field questions from the public during Saturday’s Wildfire 2012 event at the Community Building. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Valle Caldera Fire Management Official Marla Rodgers. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Bandelier Fire Management Official Gary Kemp. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

U.S. Forest Service Public Information Officer Lawrence Lujan. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Hunter Dare, 3, at left, and Jason Rodgers, 4, get a hug from Sparky the Fire Dog at Saturday’s Wildfire 2012 event. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Deputy Fire Chief Justin Grider talks about fire safety with members of the public as local architect Steve Shaw, center, looks on. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Smokey Bear was scheduled to appear at Saturday’s Wildfire 2012 event but was unexpectedly detained elsewhere, according to officals, Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

Deputy Fire Chief Justin Grider talks with Firefighter Paramedic John Bialy as Firefighter Allen Quintana speaks with members of the public Saturday. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

The public began to trickle in to speak with fire safety experts at the beginning of Saturday’s Wildfire 2012 event, which ran from 1-5 p.m. in the Community Building. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com