East Fork Fire in transition

By EastForkFire on June 20, 2022

June 20, 2022, Daily Update, 9:30 AM

East Fork Fire
STATS: 163,533 acres
Location: 3.7 miles northwest of St. Mary’s
Personnel: 242
Start Date: May 31, 2022
Cause: Natural, Lightning
Fuels: A mix of tundra, brush, and black spruce
% Contained: 100% of containment objective (71% of the fire)

Apoon Pass Fire
STATS: 72,499 acres
Location: 24 miles north of Mountain Village

ST. MARY’S, Alaska. – Fire activity across the East Fork Fire was minimal yesterday. All areas of the fire south of the Andreafsky Wilderness have been contained. A limited portion of the fire continues to slowly creep north within the wilderness boundary and burn up interior pockets of fuel. The Alaska Type 2 Incident Management Green Team is preparing to transition management of the East Fork Fire and the Apoon Pass Fire to a Type 3 Team on Wednesday, June 22 at 7 AM.

Thank you to all the boat operators who have helped on the East Fork Fire! We rely on boats to transport firefighters and supplies between villages and to allotments along the Yukon and Andreafsky rivers.

Operations: Crews are finishing the work of prepping structures and allotments north of the fire and mopping up in the southeast corner of the fire. As crews start to move out and transition to other priority fires across the state, work on the East Fork Fire includes finalizing documentation and assessing any impacts to the landscape caused by fire-fighting activities. This information will be used to start planning for any repair work that should be completed.

Aerial monitoring of both the East Fork and Apoon Pass fires will continue regularly to look for hot spots, ensure containment lines are holding, and to identify any allotments, structures, or cultural sites that may be at risk. As a reminder, temporary flight restrictions remain in effect (https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.jsp).

***East Fork Fire and Apoon Pass Fire map, June 20, 2022.*** The East Fork Fire is 100% contained outside the Andreafsky Wilderness boundary (as shown by the black line on the fire perimeter). The fire remains minimally active on the northern edges inside the wilderness area. The Apoon Fire, has burned itself out or been contained (by wet fuels, lakes, or other landscape features); it has shown no further activity in recent days.

Smoke: Fuel pockets and a few hot spots remain on the northern edge and interior of the East Fork Fire. With stronger winds from the northwest, fire activity may kick up a bit and produce some smoke. Smoke from the East Fork Fire and fires in other parts of Alaska could impact air quality. Keep apprised of fires in the area and air quality at: https://fire.airnow.gov/ and check local smoke conditions from the Purple Air sensor based at the St. Mary’s Elementary School at: https://map.purpleair.com/1/mAQI/a10/p604800/cC0#6.32/62.003/-162.442

Weather: Overnight showers will give way to fair weather today. Today’s northwest winds will shift to the south and southwest in the next few days.

East Fork Fire Information:
Phone: (907) 290-2852
Email: 2022.eastfork@firenet.gov
Statewide Fire Blog: akfireinfo.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/BLMAFS
Website: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8148/