Predicted showers have not materialized over the fire areas as prolonged dry conditions and sunny skies instigated increased fire behavior on the Marten Creek and Discovery Creek fires Monday. Luckily, humidity levels remain high to help keep fire growth limited. There are now the only two staffed fires in Alaska as fire season tapers off throughout most of the state. The Yukon Flats is often the last hold out of the fire season due to the persistent dry, warm conditions that linger in the area while the rest of the state experiences season-ending rains.

For a third day in a row, two water-dropping airplanes worked the southern edge of the Marten Creek Fire (#386) to keep things cool ahead of the work firefighters are doing in the area. The Tanana Chiefs Type 2 Initial Attack (T2IA) Crew arrived Monday and will work with the Alaska Division of Forestry’s White Mountain T2IA Crew to secure the southwest edge. The goal is to limit the spread toward historical cabins four to six miles to the south and Venetie 10 miles to the southwest. The TCC crew will build a containment line along the northern edge of a finger of burned area on the southwest corner while the White Mountain Crew works along the southern edge to pinch this section off. The White Mountain Crew has been building a containment line from a lake on the southeast edge, then west along the fire perimeter. Meanwhile, the BLM Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) North Star Crew finished connecting fire breaks around the village and will demobilize tomorrow.

The fire experienced minimal creeping and smoldering Monday as it burns in a mixture of spruce and tundra with most activity occurring on the south side of the fire.

The Discovery Creek Fire (#388) has a mixture of BLM Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanook Fire Crew working to protect a Native allotment at the confluence of the Chekhechunnjik Creek and the North Fork of the East Fork of the Teedriinjik (Chandalar) River. Smokejumpers and the Nanook Crew are busy mopping up the fire’s edge. Fire behavior increased where the fire is held up in white spruce along the northern edge of the allotment near the Chekhechunnjik Creek. Firefighters continue to monitor this area with the help of a drone. The fire area experienced cloudy skies with very light, scattered rain Monday. Firefighters reported sunny skies and warmer than expected temperatures this morning.

There is a low probability of wetting rains in the immediate forecast for either fire. Southwest gusty winds will help firefighters keep the Marten Creek Fire from moving toward Venetie. Temperatures are forecasted to be in the low 60s for Marten Creek Fire. High temperatures are only expected to get into the 50s for the Discovery Creek Fire area.

There will be a community meeting at 3 p.m. today at in Venetie where fire managers from the BLM AFS Upper Yukon Management Zone and the Marten Creek Fire will answer questions about the two fires and wildland fire management in Alaska.

There will be a community meeting at 3 p.m. today in Venetie where fire managers from the BLM AFS Upper Yukon Management Zone and the Marten Creek Fire will answer questions about the two fires and wildland fire management in Alaska.

Contact BLM Alaska Fire Service Public Affairs Specialsit Beth Ipsen at (907)356-5510 or eipsen@blm.gov for more information.

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Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, BLM Alaska Fire Service

Tags: Discovery Creek Fire, Marten Creek Fire, Upper Yukon Zone Fires