The North Star Fire Crew is being reassigned to the Wood Fire (#330), burning north of the Top of the World Highway near the Canadian-U.S. Border.
The fire was reported Thursday afternoon, producing a smoke plume visible from the Poker Creek Port of Entry, just 4.5 miles southeast of the fire. It’s just 2.5 miles north of the Boundary Airport which is located along the Top of the World Highway.
Eight smokejumpers arrived on scene early Thursday evening. They went to work providing point protection for the scattered residences and mining camps in the area of the fire, which is now estimated at 90-acres.
Plans are for the smokejumpers to be replaced by the North Star crew. They will be supported by a helicopter based in the village of Chicken, about 25 air miles to the west-southwest of the fire.
The North Stars are a training crew intended to develop new firefighters to fill future openings on the Alaska Fire Service Type I Interagency Hotshot Crews. While they are a Type 2 crew, they train to Hotshot standards.
The 8 smokejumpers on the Ch`idriinjik Fire (#315) southwest of Venetie are completing their suppression efforts and plan to leave the fire and return to Fort Wainwright Saturday. Firefighters assigned to the Lower Birch Fire (#291) 13 miles east of Beaver are also planning to be released from that fire this weekend. The four firefighters on 60-acre Kocacho Fire (#292) have also been released, with firefighters continuing to monitor the fire.
The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag Warnings and an expanded Fire Weather Watch for portions of Interior Alaska beginning Saturday afternoon. Predicted southerly Chinook winds and hot, dry conditions could result in an increase in fire activity.
As of 6 p.m. Friday, 101 fires have burned 22,503 acres within the BLM Alaska Fire Service protection area that covers the northern half of the state. Statewide, there have been a total of
299 fires have burned 62,890 acres in Alaska. For more information contact Public Information Officer Al Nash at 907-356-5510.
Categories: AK Fire Info
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 