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Cluster of lightning-caused wildfires monitored north of Allakaket

By BLM Alaska Fire Service on June 17, 2025

A wall of smoke billows up from a green landscape in this photo taken from an airplane. — *The Hogatza Fire is burning about 30 miles northwest of Alatna. It was estaimated at about 2,000 acres as of Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Photo by Craig Cochran, BLM AFS*

BLM Alaska Fire Service is closely monitoring a cluster of wildfires north of Allakaket. The largest – the approximately 2,000-acre Hogatza Fire (#140) – was very active Tuesday afternoon, producing a smoke plume visible from the Koyukuk River communities of Allakaket and Alatna, located about 30 miles southeast.

Other fires in the area include:

Klikhtentotzna Fire (#165) – 20 acres, approximately 55 miles west of Alatna
HelpMeJack Fire (#160) – 400 acres, about 42 miles northwest of Alatna
Chabanika Fire (#153) – 75 acres, about 28 miles northwest of Alatna
RockyBottom Fire (#162) – 55 acres, about 25 miles north of Alatna

None are immediately threatening any identified sites of value. All are believed to have been started by lightning that moved through the area in recent days.

A white and gray map showing terrain and four dots where there are fires burning in Alaska. — *The cluster of fires are burning about 30 miles north and northwest of Alatna.*

These fires, like many others ignited recently across BLM AFS’s protection area in northern Alaska, are burning in what is designated a Limited Management Option Area. This option allows fire to fulfill its natural ecological role unless it threatens life, property, or specific identified values. If a fire endangers people or critical sites, firefighters may mobilize to protect those values without necessarily suppressing the entire fire.

This strategy prioritizes firefighter safety, the protection of values at risk, and the overall impact on the surrounding environment. It also ensures that resources remain available to respond quickly to new ignitions that pose an immediate threat.

These fires will continue to be assessed and strategies may shift based on evolving conditions and resource availability.

For more information, contact BLM AFS Public Affairs Specialist Beth Ipsen at (907) 356-5510 or eipsen@blm.gov.

-BLM-

Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, P.O. Box 35005 1541 Gaffney Road, Fort Wainwright, Ak 99703

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The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS) located at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, provides wildland fire suppression services for over 240 million acres of Department of the Interior and Native Corporation Lands in Alaska. In addition, AFS has other statewide responsibilities that include: interpretation of fire management policy; oversight of the BLM Alaska Aviation program; fuels management projects; and operating and maintaining advanced communication and computer systems such as the Alaska Lightning Detection System. AFS also maintains a National Incident Support Cache. The Alaska Fire Service provides wildland fire suppression services for America’s “Last Frontier” on an interagency basis with the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Military in Alaska.