INL says there is no fire after photo sparks concern

ARCO – Idaho National Laboratory has confirmed there was no emergency after a photo of a cloud of steam at the site caused panic online.

According to a Facebook post from INL, “there is currently no fire and no emergency on Idaho National Laboratory’s desert site,” and when there is a fire, “INL will promptly distribute news releases and media posts about the incident.”

“I have confirmed with our INL Fire Department that there is currently no emergency and no fire on the INL site. This is not an unusual occurrence, it’s what reactors do, make steam,” INL spokeswoman Sarah Neumann told the Daily Mail.

According to the Department of Energy, “Nuclear reactors are the heart of a nuclear power plant. They contain and control nuclear chain reactions that produce heat through a physical process called fission. That heat is used to make steam that spins a turbine to create electricity.”

Other news outlets reported that there seemed to be an emergency after a post on X (formerly Twitter) asking EastIdahoNews.com to find out more after @MicahSpicer posted a photo of a cloud of steam at the INL site in Arco.

@EastIDNews is something on fire at @INL I haven’t ever seen a steam plume in the middle of the desert. pic.twitter.com/kPmDMqQycn

— Micah Spicer (@MicahSpicer) September 21, 2023

For more on on INL’s nuclear energy research, click here.

EastIdahoNews.com reached out to Idaho National Laboratory for further comment and will update if we hear more.