July 16, 2019 
Watch videos and fire footage at the Shovel Creek Fire YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2L4Qc7M
Current Statistics:
Size: 23,948 acres Containment: 40% Personnel: 528 Start Date: June 21, 2019 Cause: Lightning
The Northern Rockies Type 2 Incident Management Team, led by Incident Commander Bob Fry, assumed command of the Shovel Creek Fire at 6PM last night. The team is looking forward to working with the community, as it continues the effort to meet fire management objectives.
It has been three days since the fire area received significant rainfall. With continued warm and dry conditions, fire behavior may start to increase with most of the heat and smoke in isolated pockets in the interior and on the northern fire edge. Crews continue to mop-up and secure the southeast corner of the fire. Firefighters are not currently working on north side of the Chatanika River but structure protection equipment, such as sprinklers and hoses, are in place if needed. Firefighters are scouting for heat on the south side of the river, north of the fire.
Today, firefighters and aerial operations will be scouting the northern edge of the fire to identify opportunities to secure the fire’s edge. As the fire line along much of the perimeter improves, crews will work on fire line repair near the McCloud neighborhood. Crews are in place and prepared for any initial attack in the Shovel Creek Fire area.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough has maintained the same evacuation levels established on Friday, July 15. The neighborhoods of the Chatanika River corridor, Drouin, Hardluck, Moose Mountain, Coyote Jones, Hattie Creek, Lincoln Creek, Murphy, and Vancouver neighborhoods are no longer in an evacuation zone.
Evacuation levels as of 1:00pm on July 12, 2019:
- LEVEL 1 (READY) – McCloud, Martin and Perfect Perch neighborhoods
For people negatively affected by smoke, Fairbanks Memorial Hospital has created a 24-hour smoke respite center in the Chandler Room at 1650 Cowles Street, Fairbanks, AK 99701. The public is also encouraged to minimize smoke exposure by staying indoors with the windows closed. Stay up-to-date on current air quality information by visiting: https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/Alaska
RESOURCES: 2 hotshot crews, 6 Type 2 handcrews, 16 engines, 3 dozers, 7 helicopters, and 8 water tenders
WEATHER: Mostly sunny skies with some haze in the morning will give way to scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Temperatures will be a few degrees cooler than Monday and humidities up slightly as well. The cooling trend with higher humidities will continue as we move into Wednesday. For more information on smoke and air quality, visit: https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/Alaska
CLOSURES: A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place in the air space over the fire. Pilots are advised to check NOTAMS at: https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_9_5441.html
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