BLM Alaska Fire Service is closely monitoring the Ninetyeight Fire (#218), a lightning-caused wildfire burning in a remote corner of the Yukon Training Area, north of the Salcha River. The fire is located approximately 1.5 miles north of a cabin situated on the north side of the river near the mouth of Flat Creek, about 35 miles upriver. It was estimated at 300 acres when last flown at 8:45 p.m. Thursday.
Military Zone personnel have requested resources to assess structures in the area and determine protection measures as the fire advances. A standing order is in place to assign resources to the fire as they become available. BLM AFS is working closely with the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection to begin structure protection efforts for cabins along the river corridor and ensure coordinated response efforts.
Part of the plan is a firefighter to boat the Salcha River and provide situational updates to cabin owners. This person will remain in the area while gathering critical information to support structure protection planning for areas expected to be impacted first.
With firefighting resources stretched thin due to widespread fire activity, BLM AFS and the DOF are working together to prioritize response where firefighter and public safety are most at risk. The two agencies are coordinating closely to share resources and ensure they are deployed where they are most needed.
In populated areas like the Fairbanks North Star Borough’s Gilmore Trail, fire managers are prioritizing protection of life and property. Evacuations have already been implemented there. In more remote areas within BLM AFS’s protection zone, response may be delayed until additional resources, such as smokejumpers and crews, become available.
Following several days of widespread lightning and persistent dry conditions, state and federal fire managers anticipate new wildfires in the coming days. Some may be holdover fires – caused by lightning strikes that smolder below the surface before flaring up under warmer, windier, and drier conditions.
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 