Fire behavior in the Tanana Zone was tempered by cloud layers on Friday. As a weather front approaches the central Interior, winds are expected to increase during the afternoon hours. Southwest winds 10-20 mph are expected during the day. Wind gusts up to 25 mph may fan flames on the east side of the Tanana Zone, and especially in the Upper Yukon Zone. With ongoing wildfires, the winds could increase fire behavior and bring additional smoke to some communities. Isolated showers and thunderstorms will likely develop during the afternoon, mainly toward the east side of the Interior.

The five staffed fires are updated below:

Little Creek Fire (#616) – 133 acres, 16 personnel, started on July 18

Little movement has occurred on the lightning ignited Little Creek Fire. Smokejumpers put saw line in on the western and southern flanks of the fire with emphasis to prevent the fire from spreading. Boggy, swampy conditions make line construction a difficult process.

Boney Creek Fire (#619) – 45 acres, 8 personnel, started on July 18

Crews are making progress on the Boney Creek Fire which was started by lightning and is burning about 10 miles southwest of the village of Tanana and about 2 miles southeast of the nearest allotments. Crews working in overcast and slightly windy conditions have successfully put saw line and hose lays around nearly two-thirds of the fire.

Grouse Creek (#485) – 14,300 acres, 95 personnel, started on July 10 [includes Twin Ponds (#486) and Garnet Creek Fire (#576, 4,000 acres, started July 15)]

The Grouse Creek and Twin Pond fires are burning about 6 miles northeast of Rampart. Growing to roughly 14,300 acres, the fire has pushed through the tundra driven by 5-10 mph winds. Crews continue to assess and protect structures and allotments. A Distributed Real-Time Infrared (DRTI) perimeter flight showed fire managers that the fire has pushed east toward Hess Creek.

The Garnet Creek Fire, 12 miles southwest of Rampart, has burned 4,000 acres and is being monitored by the incident management team stationed at Rampart. Smoke may be visible throughout the Rampart area and likely settle in low lying drainages and along the Yukon River.

Bergman Creek Fire (#312) – 47,000 acres, 54 personnel, started on July 21

Firefighters will be reassigned from the lightning caused Bergman Creek Fire, located 28 miles southwest of Allakaket, due to lack of fire activity. The fire remains 2 to 3 miles from the nearest allotment. The north and northwest sides of the fire are holding in hardwood stands. A helicopter crew is assigned to continue monitoring the fire.

Foraker Fire (#389) – 46,294 acres, 5 personnel, started on June 26

Overcast conditions are reported over the Foraker Fire, located in Denali National Park. The fire was started by lightning and is estimated at 46,294 acres and is burning 18 miles west of Kantishna. Previous precipitation on the north side of the fire has decreased activity significantly. 

Information on wildfire smoke predictions can be found at the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks website located at smoke.alaska.edu.

For more information, contact the Alaska Interagency Fire Information Office at (208) 274-3316 or email 2019.AFS.FIRES@gmail.com.

For a PDF version of this update, CLICK HERE.

Categories: AK Fire Info

Tags: Alaska, Bergman Creek Fire, Boney Creek Fire, Denali National Park and Preserve, Fairbanks, fire, Foraker Fire, Garnet Creek Fire, Grouse Creek Fire, Hess Creek, Little Creek Fire, Rampart, Smokejumpers, Tanana Zone, Twin Ponds Fire, wildfire, Yukon River