Current Situation: With warm dry weather yesterday, the fire was active and moved through some stands of black spruce on both the eastern and western sides. After heavy smoke cleared yesterday, fire managers flew over the fire to map its perimeter and recent growth. The last mapping flight was a week ago. Since that time the fire grew 11,718 acres, much of that growth occurred in the last three days.

Yesterday firefighters monitored and worked on securing the boundaries of Monday’s burning operation. They maintained work done around structures and checked sprinkler systems by running the pumps, inspecting the hoses, and refilling portable water tanks. Lastly, crews monitored the entire fire and scouted areas to develop contingency plans. At the same time as implementing current plans, firefighters constantly develop contingency plans for worst-case scenarios to stay one step ahead of the fire. Today, crews will focus on making plans for the southeast corner of the fire in an effort to keep the fire north of the Elliott Highway.

Fire Behavior and Weather: Warm dry weather yesterday increased fire activity. Even though today will be partly cloudy and cooler, dry air and gusty winds from potential thunderstorms could increase fire activity again. A ridge of high pressure over the area will continue sliding east and breaking down over the next few of days. As this high pressure departs the area, temperatures will begin cooling and precipitation should arrive which should decrease fire activity for the rest of the week.

Public Awareness: For current road conditions, go to the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities’ 511.alaska.gov website. Stay up-to-date on current air quality information by visiting https://fires.airfire.org/outlooks/Alaska.  

Start Date: June 21, 2019
Cause: Lightning
Location: Ignition approximately 12 miles northeast of Livengoood, AK
Acreage: 185,185
Percent Contained: 0%
Personnel: 103

Hours of operation: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Contact Fire Information: 208-269-4413
Email: HessCreekFire2019@gmail.com
Website: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6404
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BLMAFS

Categories: AK Fire Info