BLM Alaska Fire Service is working to suppress two lightning-caused wildfires burning approximately 25 miles northwest of Huslia.
The larger fire, the 100-acre Billy Hawk Fire (#182), is located about 2.5 miles north of an Alaska Native allotment and associated structure. About 3 miles away, the 7-acre Billy Hawk 2 Fire (#191) is burning roughly 2.5 miles east of another cabin.
Five smokejumpers flying from Kotzebue to Galena after suppressing a fire north of Kiana were diverted mid-flight to respond to the Billy Hawk 2 Fire. Meanwhile, 12 additional smokejumpers were deployed to the Billy Hawk Fire.
Both fires are receiving aerial support. Two single-engine water scoopers are targeting the Billy Hawk 2 Fire to help slow its spread, while smokejumpers are actively laying hose lines around the perimeter. A helicopter equipped with a large water bucket suspended by a cable is also dropping water on the Billy Hawk Fire to support the ground effort.
Given the area’s prolonged stretch of hot, dry weather, fire managers are working quickly to limit the growth of these early-season fires and reduce the threat to nearby structures and communities.
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: AK Fire Info, BLM Alaska Fire Service
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 