los alamos is welcome minute thumbnail 05:01 pm to come home. almost immediately-- thousands of residents tired from days of sleeping on cots, staying at hotels, or with family and friends began streaming back into town. we kick off our live team coverage tonight with eddie garcia in los alamos. i've never seen so many smiles on peoples faces in a time of cris - this evening there is a feeling of joy in the air as people return home, everyone is greeting eachother and joking around. it almost feels like a big family reunion. but the reality of the fire is still there - firefighters are still working around the clock. minute thumbnail 05:02 pm also the county is operating at essential services only and the emergency room at the hospital is up and running. right now fire crews are working on strengthening the perimeter area from quemazon to guaje pines cemetary ong with several other areas. and as it gets darker - the glow from the fire will appear. chief doug tuckerlos alamos fire department at night those fire that are way out there all the sudden look in your backyard and so what we're asking folks to do is don't call 911 unless it's an imminent emergency - call 311 and get the information to us. we have roving patrols so we'll have boots on the ground, eyes on it so we're not worried about it. wild animals have also been spotted roaming around the area - the chief told me that few bears were spotted raiding trash cans during the week. if you encounter an animal call the fish and game service because they say these animals are stressed because of the fire and are unpredictable. the chief also asks that people stay off the trails and lands minute thumbnail 05:03 pm that have been burned while they're working to contain this active fire. live in los alamos, eddie garcia kob ewn 4. los alamos national lab says it will be open for business again on wednesday. lab officials say before employees come back to work, more than 2-thousand buildings on campus must be checked. the lab says not every facility will be fully functional by wednesday-- and employees are urged to be patient. and another test by aircraft today showed no signs of abnormal radiation... according to the governor's office. all week long, daily tests have indicated radiation levels identical to those before the fire. many have been concerned the fire burning near lab property could stir up radiation. officials say ground monitors have also not detected any abnormal radiation levels. and los alamos county announced just a few hours ago employees who missed work because of the evacuation will be paid for the days missed. the county says all employees should return to work on tuesday-- unless minute thumbnail 05:04 pm told otherwise. as los alamos slowly returns back to normal.. residents there can finally breathe a sigh of relief and sleep in their own beds tonight. heather mills spent the day talking to people as they returned home for the first time. she continues our live team coverage. heather. for the residents of los alamos.. coming home couldn't have happened soon enough. a steady stream of cars filtered into the city all day -- many residents bringing back their families.. their pets .. and their belongings that they hastily grabbed when they got the reverse 911 call to leave. we were with carlos and linda casias when they got that phone call.. and today we were there when they returned home. linda says even though they were eager to sleep in their own beds.. they considered not returning quite yet because of the air quality. carlos has asthma and neither one wanted to expose baby isabella.. but ultimately.. they decided they minute thumbnail 05:05 pm couldn't stay away. "we were very hesitant on coming back because of the smoke." "we thought it was going to be at least tuesday or wednesday before we came back, but i think we're just so keen to get back to our house." for the casias family... it's all about getting back to normal after a long week of waiting... and it starts with a soccer game... then the task of unpacking. reporting live in los alamos, heather mills, kob eye witness news four.
