Division of Forestry Kenai-Kodiak Area firefighters and two helicopter are working hard to contain the Killey Fire (#413) burning near east of Browns Lake near Sterling on Sunday night. Photo by Division of Forestry
Firefighters and helicopters are aggressively working on a half-acre fire burning southwest of the confluence of Killey and Kenai rivers. The Killey Fire (#413) is burning in a full protection area east of Browns Lake and to the west of the Killey River near Sterling. It was reported at 3:20 p.m. Sunday by firefighter personnel aboard an aircraft guiding water-scooping airplanes flying between Skilak Lake and the Swan Lake Fire. A Division of Forestry Kenai – Kodiak Area helitack crew with four firefighters responded and three other DOF firefighters traveled by four wheelers to reach the fire. They are busy cutting in a saw line around the fire that is burning in heavy dead and downed trees from the 2014 Funny River Fire. Two helicopters were dropping large buckets of water on the fire, including one that was pulled from the nearby Swan Lake Fire. This helicopter was diverted back when winds kicked up activity on the Swan Lake Fire burning in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
Firefighters reported the fire is burning deep underneath surface layers and was proving to be resistant to suppression.
They will continue to work toward fully suppressing the fire.
For more information, contact the Alaska Interagency Fire Information Office at (907)356-5511.
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Map of the Killey Fire (#413) burning outside Sterling on June 30, 2019. Click 6-30-19_KilleyFire for PDF version of map.
Categories: AK Fire Info
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 