Firefighters continue to respond to several fires in the Upper Yukon, including one new start which was discovered Friday evening.
Firefighters reached 100% containment on the Fortymile Fire (#355), located about 25 miles north of Beaver as of Friday evening. In addition, ground resources achieved a 100 foot mop up distance from the line into the interior of the fire. The Cherokee Hotshots and two smokejumpers will continue to monitor the fire into Sunday evening before they are demobilized off the line by helicopter transport. These resources will then be available to be assigned to additional ongoing incidents.
Aircraft continue to respond to the Tsukon Fire (#382), located between Venetie and Fort Yukon. The fire was started by lightning and reported on the evening of July 4. Fire resources were inserted on the ground but were pulled out of the area due to extreme fire behavior. One helicopter continued to conduct water drops onto the fire throughout Saturday. A reconnaissance flight is planned in order to obtain an accurate acreage of the fire. The fire is currently being managed under a point protection strategy. Additional resources will be assigned as they become available.
On the Runt Fire (#330), located 3 miles from the Canadian border, estimated at 1,502 acres, firefighting resources made progress around the perimeter of the fire. Firefighters will continue to work through the next several days and conduct firing operations in expectation of the upcoming weather shift that is expected to move through the Eastern Interior early next week. Aerial resources are requested, and will be assigned as they become available.
Hot, dry weather will stay in place over the Upper Yukon Zone for the next several days. Some precipitation is expected to move into the area by Tuesday, but the potential for new fires remains high and extremely dry fuels persist.
-BLM-
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Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, BLM Alaska Fire Service
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 