Containment increased to 70 percent on the Loon Lake Fire yesterday as the Pioneer Peak Hotshots and Gannett Glacier Crew completed cutting a fire break around the perimeter of the 102-acre fire, fire managers with the Alaska Division of Forestry reported. A hose line also is in place around the fire to provide firefighters with a water source to extinguish any remaining hot spots found.
Rain fell over the fire area yesterday assisting fire crews who spent the afternoon mopping up and gridding the interior perimeter for hot spots. There were 62 personnel working on the fire Thursday morning.
Today, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks Type 2 hand crew will fly into the fire to replace the Pioneer Peak crew, who are mobilizing to McGrath for the About Mountain Fire where structures are threatened. The Nanooks crew will work on the section of fireline that Gannett Glacier and Pioneer finished yesterday, prioritizing cutting open and mopping up areas of heat in the thick black spruce along the interior of the fire perimeter. The Nanooks will remain on the Loon Lake Fire until the mopping up and gridding is complete. If needed today as the sunshine returns and dries out yesterday’s moisture, a helicopter with long line and water bucket can help knock down interior flare ups.
Resources assigned to Type 3 Incident Management Team lead by Incident Commanders Bryan Quimby & Torrey Short today include:
- 2 Hand Crews (36 persons) – Gannett Glacier Type 2 IA and University of Alaska Fairbanks Nannooks Type 2 Crew
- Kenai Helitack (3 persons)
- Type 2 medium helicopter
- Type 3 light helicopter
- Type 3 light Initial Attack helicopter
- Helibase and helicopter managers and support (7)
- Operations/support/overhead specialists (14)
A line-qualified Alaska Fire Medic will remain staged at the helibase in Sterling with a full complement of both basic and advanced life support to support crews for any medical issues. The highest priority on this fire is to ensure that every firefighter returns safely to camp at the end of shift, and leaves this assignment healthy and ready for the next wildfire.
A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains in place with a three mile “no fly” area from the center of the fire. For details about the TFR, go to https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_2229.html.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 