Home › AK Fire Info › Healy Lake Fire at 2,500 acres and growing; firefighters work to protect cabins

Healy Lake Fire at 2,500 acres and growing; firefighters work to protect cabins

By Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection on June 17, 2015

The Healy Lake Fire southwest of Delta Junction is now estimated at 2,500 acres and is growing.
The fire was started by lightning in the area on Tuesday night and is burning on the east side of the Tanana River between Healy Lake and Moose Lake. Healy Lake, which is inaccessible by road, is home to several recreational cabins and is a popular duck hunting destination in the fall. A village sits on the opposite side of the lake from the cabins but nobody is currently living there and the village is not threatened.
Sixteen smokejumpers from the Bureau of Land Management and the Fairbanks 2 Type 2 firefighting crew from the Alaska Division of Forestry are doing structure protection on cabins and other structures around the lake. Air tankers dropped fire retardant lines around structures on Wednesday while firefighters set up sprinklers around cabins and other structures. A hotshot crew was scheduled to arrive at the fire tonight to reinforce the firefighting effort.
Jet boats are being used to transport firefighters and supplies up the Tanana River to Healy Lake while a forward operating base is set up on the Healy Lake Airstrip.
A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place over the fire due to the air support activities.

The Healy Lake Fire about 30 miles southwest of Delta Junction was estimated at 2,500 acres on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to get bigger. Alaska Division of Forestry photo.