Editing Trinity (nuclear test) (section)

===Civilian detection===
The light from the test was visible as far as [[Amarillo, Texas]], {{convert|280|mi}} and a mountain range away from Trinity.{{r|wellerstein20150716}} The Second Air Force issued a press release with a cover story that Groves had prepared weeks before, which described the explosion as the accidental destruction of a [[Magazine (artillery)|magazine]] on the base. The press release, written by Laurence, stated: {{blockquote|Alamogordo, N.M., July 16
The commanding officer of the Alamogordo Army Air Base made the following statement today: "Several inquiries have been received concerning a heavy explosion which occurred on the Alamogordo Air base reservation this morning. A remotely located ammunition magazine containing a considerable amount of high explosives and pyrotechnics exploded. There was no loss of life or injury to anyone, and the property damage outside of the explosives magazine was negligible. Weather conditions affecting the content of gas shells exploded by the blast may make it desirable for the Army to evacuate temporarily a few civilians from their homes."<ref>{{cite news |title=Blast Occurs At Alamogordo Air Base |newspaper=Clovis News-Journal |date=July 16, 1945 |page=6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3985915// |access-date=January 7, 2016 |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928190924/https://www.newspapers.com/article/3985915/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Norris|2002|p=407}}}}

Laurence had prepared four releases, covering outcomes ranging from a cover story for a successful test (the one which was used) to catastrophic scenarios involving serious damage to surrounding communities, evacuation of nearby residents, and a placeholder for the names of those killed.{{sfn|Sweeney|2001|pp=205–206}}{{sfn|Laurence|1970|pp=39–41}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Weekly Document #1: Trinity test press releases (May 1945) |url=http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2011/11/10/weekly-document-01/ |publisher=Restricted Data: The Nuclear Secrecy Blog |last=Wellerstein |first=Alex |access-date=June 12, 2021 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516054809/http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/2011/11/10/weekly-document-01/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As Laurence was a witness to the test, he knew that the last release, if used, might be his own obituary.{{sfn|Sweeney|2001|pp=205–206}} A newspaper article published the same day stated that "the blast was seen and felt throughout an area extending from [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]] to [[Silver City, New Mexico|Silver City]], [[Gallup, New Mexico|Gallup]], Socorro, and [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]]."<ref>{{cite news |title=Army Ammunition Explosion Rocks Southwest Area |newspaper=[[El Paso Herald-Post]] |date=July 16, 1945 |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3985966// |access-date=January 7, 2016 |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928190926/https://www.newspapers.com/article/3985966/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The articles appeared in New Mexico, but East Coast newspapers ignored them,{{sfn|Sweeney|2001|pp=205–206}} and local residents who saw the light accepted the cover story.{{r|wellerstein20150716}}

Information about the Trinity test was made public shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima. The [[Smyth Report]], released on August 12, 1945, gave some information on the blast, and the edition released by [[Princeton University Press]] a few weeks later incorporated the War Department's press release on the test as Appendix 6, and contained the famous pictures of a "bulbous" Trinity fireball.{{sfn|Smyth|1945|pp=vii–viii, 138–139, 247–254}}