This is a report on fires occurring in Division of Alaska Forestry & Fire Protection northern protection areas, generally north of the Alaska Range. These include the DOF Prevention areas of Fairbanks, Delta Junction and Tok.
Sunday was the warmest and driest day of the fire season but as the high-pressure system over a large northern portion of the state starts to break down temperatures will moderate. Temperatures across the southern Interior will be 4 to 8 degrees cooler and relative humidities will increase 5 to 9%. Isolated showers in the southern Interior will transition to widely scattered wet thunderstorms in the evening. This change in the weather will moderate fire behavior.
The northern Interior and Yukon Flats will continue to be warm and dry with gusty winds setting up critical fire weather conditions. The National Weather Service Alaska has issued a Red Flag Warning to be in affect Tuesday from 2:00 PM till 10:00 PM for areas south of the Brooks Range including the Dalton Highway, Beaver, Central, Arctic Village, Fort Yukon, and Chalkyitsik continuing to the Canadian border. A strong Siberian low is forecast to move into Alaska later in the week bringing a substantial amount of precipitation.
Dense smoke will persist in the central and eastern Interior. Some areas may experience low visibility and drivers should be cautious and drive with their lights on. Do not drive into dense smoke. Pull over, well clear of the roadway, and wait for conditions to improve.
Three new fires were reported Sunday in DOF protection areas.
A DOF detection flight patrolling the area spotted a smoke column following a lightning strike just north of the Alaska Highway near MP 1,290.5 in a full response area. Tok Area DOF engines and helitack responded to the Midway Lake Fire (#329) but were unable to locate any evidence of the fire. They reported quite a bit of moisture in the area. This location will be monitored should the lightning strike rekindle when conditions change.
A Delta Area DOF helitack, departing a fire, spotted a smoke column. The Shaw Creek Dome Fire (#326), located in a full response area, is northeast of Shaw Creek Dome, 19.25 miles northeast of Big Delta. The fire was estimated to be 7 acres, burning in black spruce and mixed hardwoods. Helitack surveyed the area and reported nothing is threatened within 15-20 miles of the fire. No action was taken allowing firefighting resources to remain available for higher priority fires. Monday afternoon Delta helitack will return to the fire and construct a landing zone for crews to have access to the fire. Water scooping aircraft are also requested for Monday.
Pogo Mine reported a small column of smoke following a lightning strike near their airstrip. Delta Area DOF helitack responded to the Goodpaster River Fire (#323) and reported a .1-acre fire creeping and smoldering in hardwoods. Helitack unloaded its firefighting crew members and hooked up its water dropping bucket to begin suppression efforts. Pogo Mine fire personnel assisted DOF firefighters to contain and control the fire. It will be placed into monitor status.
Firefighters continued working Sunday on three staffed fires in the DOF Fairbanks Area.
Last Chance Creek Fire (#305) – 11 miles east of Fox near Fort Knox Gold Mine in a full response area. The fire is estimated to be 1-acre with 16 personnel assigned. No fire growth was observed Sunday. Firefighters completed their hose lay from the pump site to the fire. There is not a nearby water source so portable tanks have been set up to provide water for mop-up. The dozer continues creating a line direct along the fire’s edge. Firefighters will work Monday to complete a hose lay around the perimeter to support mop up efforts.
Totchaket Slough Fire (#297) – 15 miles north of Nenana in full response area and is estimated to be 1 acre with 15 personnel assigned. Firefighters gridded the fire Sunday and found no areas of heat or visible smoke. Monday morning the crew gridded the fire a final time finding no heat and called the fire out. Demobilization operations will get underway in the afternoon. This will be the last update for this fire unless there is a significant change.
Gold King Creek Fire (#276) – 46 miles south of Fairbanks in a limited response area and is estimated to be 5,500 acres with 34 personnel assigned. Smokejumpers and Yukon crew have completed setting up their pump and hose lays to protect the structures in the cabin community of Gold King. An Un-crewed Aerial System module (UAS) has been assigned to the fire to provide reconnaissance and mapping of the fire.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, Alaska DNR - Division of Forestry (DOF)
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 