PYRAMID LAKE, Nevada -- Sixty years after the first atomic bomb test, a group of California artists opposed to the continued existence of nuclear weapons commemorated the event by setting off a simulated nuclear blast in the Nevada desert.
Before an invited audience of around 100 people, the artists culminated more than three years of work with a fiery spectacle, called Simnuke, at just after 5:29 a.m. Saturday, the time of day that the U.S. Army conducted its test on July 16, 1945, at the Trinity site in the New Mexico desert.
See photos The crowd came from across the United States to see what was billed as a mushroom cloud blast of up to 500 feet that would invoke the frightening spectacle of a real nuclear explosion.
But in keeping with the tenor of the antinuclear statement, the Simnuke audience took in Saturday's demonstration quietly. Many cried at thoughts of how the atomic age inexorably changed the consequences of all-out war.
"We'd appreciate it if you didn't cheer or clap when (the blast) is over, because it's a really somber moment," Camron Assadi, Simnuke's lead organizer, told the crowd. "By somber, I mean think of all the people that were killed (by atomic bombs)."
The Simnuke team's Nevada exhibition was produced in conjunction with a gallery show in San Francisco beginning July 28 that will feature artwork related to nuclear themes.
Simnuke was hardly the only observation of the anniversary. Across the country, people paid tribute to the memory of what was unleashed in 1945.
For example, 20 Japanese Zen priests left San Francisco Saturday on foot for New Mexico. The priests plan to arrive at the Trinity site on Aug. 9, the 60th anniversary of the nuclear attack on Nagasaki, Japan.
Also, hundreds of people gathered at a New Mexico military base Saturday to remember the advent of the nuclear age.
Held on private desert land about 75 miles from Reno, Nevada, Simnuke was a showcase for the pyrotechnic expertise of the team that produced it, and a chance for those on hand to bear witness to a fantastic visual display.
To create the giant, fiery mushroom cloud, the artists used six industrial fire-suppression fans, through which they pumped 400 gallons of a gasoline-and-biodiesel mixture rather than foam fire retardant.
At around 4:30 Saturday morning, the crowd began to gather at the Simnuke site. Most on hand watched the Simnuke team prepare or talked quietly with friends. The smell of bacon wafted through the air as a crew prepared a post-event breakfast.
As time counted down, the Simnuke team members took their stations. Each wore a silver proximity suit to protect them from the blast's intense heat.
A bright flash of flame erupted and quickly rose. A moment after it started, the blast turned into a giant mushroom cloud. Assadi later estimated it had reached 300 feet high.
It was so bright that by comparison, the pre-dawn light in the sky appeared entirely dark. The ground glowed with the reflection of the blast.
Twenty seconds later, it was over. A huge plume of black smoke rose and drifted away from the site, and the crowd sat still, almost eerily silent.
"It made me think about what the people felt who died or survived the bomb," said Kiki Petit, an artist from the San Francisco Bay Area. "I actually saw a lot of tears. The fact that there were so many tears showed that people really did think about (what the exhibition meant)."
Others expressed admiration that the team had managed to pull off the blast without hurting anyone.
"I actually left home with a little bit of trepidation," said guest Jan Voss. "But it was worth it. It's just the experience of being here and seeing something that was pretty massive to put together."
Some of the crew members admitted having entertained doubts that Simnuke would go off safely.
"I have not been truly, legitimately scared like that in a long, long time," said Aaron Muszalski, a Simnuke volunteer, "just being so close to all that pressurized fuel ... and a bevy of flamethrowers 30 feet away when the audience has been told to be 300 feet away."
Afterward, as the sun rose above the surrounding mountains, a soot-covered Assadi clutched a bottle of Chimay and expressed admiration for the Manhattan Project scientists that had invented nuclear weapons
"Those guys are American heroes even though they created the atomic bomb," he said. "It's a great technological feat even though I despise the technology."
