Smokejumpers are on the ground in Rampart after responding Wednesday night to a large, fast-moving wildfire burning north of the Yukon River, directly across from the community.
Their response came at the end of an already demanding day, as BLM Alaska Fire Service and interagency partners were actively engaged with numerous new fire starts across the state sparked by lightning and fueled by hot, dry conditions. In the past two days, 47 new wildfires have been reported across Alaska following widespread thunderstorms.
The Lush Fire (#199) was first spotted around 7:30 p.m. by a BLM AFS firefighter aboard a detection flight and was initially estimated at just 15 acres. However, by the time smokejumpers got on the ground roughly two hours later, it had rapidly expanded to approximately 200 acres. The fire was exhibiting extreme behavior – running through black spruce and crowning in the canopy – as it spread through an area with virtually no recent fire history.
Given the fire’s intensity, rapid growth, and the late time of the day, smokejumpers and fire managers decided not to jeopardize the firefighters’ safety by having them take direct action on the fire. Instead, they are working closely with the community to evaluate what additional resources may be needed in the coming days to protect Rampart and several Alaska Native allotments on both sides of the river.
More information will be available on Thursday.
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.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, BLM Alaska Fire Service
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 