The site where much of the nuclear waste from testing since the 1970's has caught fire. BEATTY, Nevada (KSNV News3LV) --



A fire at an ecology site in Beatty, about 120 miles northwest of Vegas, has resulted in several explosions and may involve low-level nuclear waste.

Nye County, Nevada Image from: Google Maps

Nye County borders Clark County and is most known for legalized prostitution, is the site of the infamous Sheri's Ranch. This is where Lamar Odom was found unresponsive several days ago.

Jon Ralston, the Nevada political reporter best known for putting the kibosh on Sharron Angle's Senate bid, tweets:

So there's a big fire in rural NV, and officials think it might be low-level nuclear waste. This sounds scary: pic.twitter.com/MvUOhbumhI — Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) October 19, 2015

News 3 Las Vegas: The U.S. Ecology site, which studies the risk that buried contaminants pose to wildlife, is known to have nuclear waste buried in the area, along with many other chemicals.

The fire started at 5:30 P.M. last night, and flooding has reportedly prevented fire crews from approaching the area. In a press release Governor Brian Sandoval says he is going to mobilize state resources to fight the fire.

The Las Vegas CBS Affiliate reports:



This area of Nye County also dealt with heavy rain, forcing road closures.

Several roads in the area are closed as well as Beatty and Amargosa schools are closed.

The story is still developing. We will update when more details emerge. It may be time to see the potentially ghastly consequences of storing nuclear waste, and it likely won't be good for the health of Nevadans.