"The Tularosa Basin was home to a rural population that lived off the land by raising livestock and tending to gardens and farms. They drew water from cisterns and holding ponds. They had no idea that the fine ash that settled on everything in the days following the explosion was from the world’s first atomic blast.

The government initially tried to hide it, saying that an explosion at a munitions dump caused the rumble and bright light, which could be seen more than 160 milesaway." https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-07-19/oppenheimer-extols-atomic-bomb-triumph-but-ignores-health-effects-on-those-living-nearby