Smoke from the Nelchina Fire continues to be visible from the Glenn Highway near mile marker 128 as the fire remains active on the northern and eastern perimeters. The fire has grown to 3,000 acres and continues to move to the east towards the confluence of the Nelchina River and Eureka Creek. Fire managers continue to look for natural barriers and areas for opportunity to slow the fire’s spread, minimizing the impact to the Glenn Highway and structures within the fire area.
Based on the predicted fire behavior, structure protection will continue to be evaluated and improved on a daily basis as firefighters improve and enhance placement of pumps and hose lays near homes south of Eureka Roadhouse. Fuel reduction with the masticator between mile markers 129 and 132 has been completed and the masticator will be relocated further south on the Glenn Highway to remove additional fuel around structures on state property.
Aviation assets continue to play a vital role in suppression efforts on the Nelchina Glacier Fire as the 2, UH60 Blackhawk Helicopters from the Alaska Air National Guard we’re joined on the fire line yesterday by 2 medium size air tankers from the Palmer Air Attack Base. The air tankers were able to place very long continuous lines of retardant on the active fire edge, reducing the fire activity in those areas and meeting suppression objectives. The air tankers delivered multiple loads of retardant into the evening hours and greatly helped in slowing the spread of the fire to the north. Air tankers will return to the fire today to support resources on the ground.
The Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) continues to be active for all aircraft not assigned to the fire from a 5 nautical mile radius, up and including to 4,000’ MSL. For more information and specifics on the current TFR in place please visit https://tfr.faa.gov/tfr3/.
Traffic traveling along the Glenn Highway continues to be a main hazard for firefighters on the ground. For the safety of our firefighters, the public is encouraged to slow down between 126 and 134 as crews and equipment will be visible along the roadway as they work towards suppression objectives
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, Alaska DNR - Division of Forestry (DOF)
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 