Dozens of firefighters continued mopping up a lightning-caused wildfire about 15 miles southwest of Fairbanks on Tuesday while others were kept busy chasing small, lightning-caused fires around the Fairbanks area.
As of Wednesday morning, there were still 84 firefighting personnel working to contain the 116-acre Livingston Fire in the Rosie Creek area approximately 15 miles southwest of Fairbanks. The fire was started on Sunday by lightning, drawing a quick and aggressive response from the Alaska Division of Forestry given its proximity to homes and cabins in the area.
On Tuesday, firefighters had constructed a containment line around 80 percent of the fire and began cutting around multiple green pockets along the perimeter and interior of the fire to prevent flare-ups. A Type 2 hand crew from Fairbanks arrived on the fire Tuesday night to replace the Midnight Sun Hotshot Crew, which was released from the fire on Wednesday to be assigned to higher priority fires in the state.
Fire managers said on Wednesday they are expecting work to be complete on the Livingston Fire sometime this weekend.
Firefighters from the Fairbanks and Delta area forestry offices, meanwhile, responded to four small, lightning-caused fires on Tuesday.
The Alder Creek Fire was reported at 1:15 p.m.in the area of June Bug Loop off the Old Nenana Highway south of Fairbanks after a lightning strike caught a tree on fire. Firefighters hiked into the fire and forestry personnel were released after the fire department indicated it would take care of the fire. Shortly after forestry personnel departed, however, the fire department called forestry and requested assistance mopping up the fire. Forestry personnel returned to cut down a snag and help mop up the fire, which was declared contained and controlled at 5:30 p.m.
Just before 3 p.m., State forestry received a report of a lightning strike and fire on the back side of Harding Lake. Forestry personnel in a helicopter and an engine arrived to find a one-quarter acre fire burning in black spruce with a 100 percent active perimeter. The helicopter dropped water on the fire to knock it down and firefighters engaged the fire on the ground. Three firefighters remained overnight to extinguish hotspots and mop up.
Later in the evening at around 7:45 p.m., forestry firefighters patrolling the Goldstream Valley area spotted smoke on the north side of Ester Dome and headed in that direction. A woman on Nordstrasse Road called the Fairbanks Area forestry office to report seeing a lightning strike in the same area about a mile from her house. She said she could see smoke and flames.
A helicopter load of firefighters and firefighters on four-wheelers responded to the area to find a one-quarter acre fire in hardwoods and spruce. The helicopter dropped water on the fire to knock it down while firefighters mopped up hot spots and checked for any other heat.
In Delta, state forestry personnel responded to the report of a lightning strike and smoke on the northeast side of Clearwater Lake at around 6 p.m. A helicopter with four firefighters responded and found a small fire burning in a grassy area between trees. The helicopter dropped water on the fire while firefighters on the ground mopped up the fire until it was fully suppressed and declared out just before 9 p.m. The fire was estimated at one-tenth of an acre.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 