This is a report on fires occurring in Division of Alaska Forestry & Fire Protection northern and coastal areas. These include the DOF protection areas of Kenai/Kodiak, Southwest, Mat-Su, Valdez/Copper River, Fairbanks, Delta, and Tok.
There was one new fire reported in DOF’s protection areas Tuesday. A passing pilot and callers reported a fire near the Knik Glacier. Mat-Su helitack was dispatched and discovered an unattended campfire along an ATV trail that had spread into the brush and nearby trees. Helitack firefighting crewmembers were deployed, and the helicopter started bucket drops. The Metal Creek 2 Fire (#370) is two tenths of an acre. Bucket drops contained the fire and crew members mopped up the burned area. After gridding the fire and surrounding green area, no additional sources of heat or smoke were found. The fire has been controlled and called out. This is the third abandoned campfire near the glacier this season that has spread into the surrounding wildland requiring a response from DOF.
Cooler temperatures, rain showers, and relatively light winds will continue across Southwest Alaska on Wednesday and into the evening. Temperatures will gradually warm in the region Thursday and Friday. Rain showers and cooler temperatures will continue through the remainder of the workweek in Southcentral and coastal areas. Potions of the Mat-Su Valley, Kenai Peninsula, and the Talkeetna and western Chugach Mountains will see more widespread rain showers move in late Wednesday through Thursday. More scattered rain shower activity is expected Wednesday and Thursday for the Copper River Basin, Wrangell Mountains, the Gulf coast and eastern Interior areas. A warmer, dryer pattern starts to set up for the weekend as high pressure builds over a large portion of the state.
Burn Permits are required statewide Wednesday in all DOF protection areas but call your local Burn Permit Hotline as conditions change. Valid Burn Permits allow residents to conduct small debris burns, utilize burn barrels and complete small lawn burns. More information about the DOF Burn Permit program and current suspensions can be found at https://dnr.alaska.gov/burn
Gold King Creek Fire (#276) – located 46 miles south of Fairbanks in a limited response area and is estimated to be 6,324 acres. 11 personnel are assigned. Interior islands of unburned vegetation continue to burn, putting up smoke. The fire has not shown any significant growth in several days. Backhaul of equipment, supplies and trash will be done Wednesday. The DOF Fairbanks 1 Squad will be released Wednesday, returning to their base once backhaul is completed. Two firefighters and the two members of the Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS/drone) Module will remain to monitor the fire. Hose lays will remain in place at the two cabins nearest the fire. Should fire activity increase in the area of those cabins, helitack can easily return to defend the cabins.
A Temporary Flight Restriction will remain in place over the Gold King Creek Fire for the safe operation of firefighting aircraft. Pilots should check here, https://tfr.faa.gov/, for the status of the TFR before flying in the area.
This will be the last update on this fire unless there is a significant change.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, Alaska DNR - Division of Forestry (DOF)
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 