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Snow helps put out wildfire at security site near Las Vegas

About an inch of overnight snowfall helped extinguish a wildfire at a nuclear test site in Nye County, federal officials said Tuesday.

A downed power line sparked a blaze Monday afternoon that burned about 1,100 acres of a remote area at the Nevada National Security Site, officials said. The site is located about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas and serves as the primary home to the nation’s underground nuclear testing program.

Officials said the fire did not affect any contaminated areas or damage any buildings.

The area was once known as the Nevada Test Site and is run by the Department of Energy. The United States conducted 928 nuclear tests at the site between 1951 and 1992.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.

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