Soggy and cooler weather blanketed southern Alaska on Thursday, reducing initial attack activity to one new fire across the response area. The Osprey Fire (#350) was previously reported as fire #355. The fire was reported in the early morning hours on Thursday and caught at under 0.1 acre, posing no threats to the public or surrounding land areas.
Fire danger has moderated in the DOF Mat-Su Prevention Area. Burn permit suspensions have lifted meaning small debris burns, the use of burn barrels, or small lawn burns are allowed with a small scale burn permit. You can find more information about the DOF Burn Permit program and suspensions at https://dnr.alaska.gov/burn
This is the daily fire report on fires occurring in Division of Alaska Forestry & Fire Protection coastal protection area, generally south of the Alaska Range. These include the DOF protection areas of Southwest, Anchorage Mat-Su, Kenai-Kodiak and Copper River.
Osprey Fire (#350) – Previously reported as fire #355. Located 3 miles east of Nikiski, the fire was reported in the early morning hours on Thursday. Crews arrived to find a shed that had caught on fire and that the fire had spread to the wildland. With mutual aid from the Nikiski Fire Service-Kenai Peninsula Borough, the fire was quickly extinguished at 0.1 acres and after a thorough mop up, all resources returned back to their stations.
Tustumena Lake Fire (#311) – The 35 acre, Tustumena Lake Fire, 20 miles south of Soldotna, has been 100% contained and has shown minimal activity over the past 72 hours. Suppression forces working in conjunction with the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection’s Pioneer Peak Hotshots will continue to extinguish hot spots along the perimeter and begin to focus their attention on interior hot spots well within the fire perimeter to minimize the risk of the fire spreading to adjacent lands. The fire burned in thick stands of black spruce within a heavy accumulation of downed and dead debris, requiring extensive mop up to secure the area safely before releasing the crews. Crews will continue to utilize helicopters to remove fire suppression tools that are no longer being utilized on the fire to the Centennial Lake campground. As fire managers right size the operation, unneeded fire apparatus will be released back to their home units. There are currently 34 personnel assigned to the incident.
Smoke and aviation resources will continue to be visible along the Tustumena Lake Road corridor as aviation resources support firefighters on the ground from the Centennial Lake campground area. The Centennial Lake campground remains closed to public access.
The Slack Water boat launch on the Kasilof River and the Tustumena Campground are now open to the public.
The fire poses no threat to the residents of the Kenai Peninsula Borough at this time. For more information regarding the impact to the community please visit info.kpb.us This is the one-stop hub site for ready, set, go, know-your-zones and other response information.
American Creek Fire (#143) – 25 miles northeast of King Salmon, is estimated to have consumed approximately 4,650 acres. This lighting cause fire burning in a limited suppression area continues to show minimal growth. Fire managers will continue to monitor the fire closely with aerial resources and take necessary suppression actions if the fire shows growth towards values at risk or an increase in intensity within the fire area.
With the recent drop in temperatures and increased moisture levels across southwest Alaska on Wednesday, the Type 3 organization known as the Red Devil Group remains actively engaged in managing multiple fires within their jurisdiction. Updates to personnel assignments and acreage figures have been made to reflect the latest data over the past 24 hours. Most of the fires in this group have now been contained and shifted to a monitoring phase, but they will continue to be regularly monitored by aerial resources. This will be the final report on the following fires unless significant activity resumes.
Cribby Creek Fire (#201) -The fire 3 miles north of Red Devil remains fully contained at 91 acres in a modified response area. Currently, 46 personnel are on-site. The Del Rosa and Laguna Hotshots are actively protecting Native allotments along the Kuskokwim River, directly across from Red Devil, using hand lines and hose-supported pumps. As fire managers continue to see a reduction in fire activity in the area, the assigned hotshot crews will begin to be released to other incidents within the region. The Laguna Hotshots are scheduled to be released on Sunday, July 7 as fire managers optimize the firefighting resources.
Categories: Alaska DNR - Division of Forestry (DOF)
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 