A saw line has been cut and plumbed with hoses and pumps around the Aggie Creek Fire (#294). Hotshot crews will continue to improve their saw line while others will focus on nearby spots that have been kept in check by water dropping aircraft. The perimeter was mapped resulting the reduction in acreage to 65 acres.
Fairbanks 1 Crew is completing their mop up of the 0.5-acre Aggie Creek 2 Fire (#291) two miles east of Aggie Creek Fire. They will grid and cold trail the fire to secure the perimeter and ensure no heat remains.
Both fires are the result of lightning strikes from passing thunderstorms on Wednesday, June 15. Thunderstorms will develop each afternoon and evening in the Interior for the next few days potentially sparking new fires. More fires from past storms are expected. It is not unusual for a lightning strike to holdover and smolder for days, or potentially weeks, in the duff before a warm day with a breeze brings it life. The duff layer, that layer of decomposing moss, lichen, and tree litter, often about a foot deep, that make up the floor of the boreal forests and tundra, is very dry. Light rain is not enough to penetrate the duff effectively enough to make it less susceptible to burning.
Reconnaissance flights are conducted daily across the state looking for new fires.
Categories: AK Fire Info
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 