Bonanza Creek Fire (#238): 12,572 acres, 12 % containment
Goldstream Creek Fire (#270): 20,558 acres, 9 % containment
Personnel: 449
Evacuation Information: Containment of the fire line along the Parks Highway has made it possible for the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to downgrade evacuation levels Wednesday, July 16th. Evacuation status dropped to a Level 2 ‘Set’ for residents within a half mile on each side of the highway between Mile Posts 317 to 338. All other areas saw no changes in evacuation levels.
🔴 Level 3 ‘GO!’:
- Outside the Borough: From the borough’s western edge, 4.5 miles west; from Sled Road north for 7 miles from the Alaska Railroad. This includes Standard Creek Road and nearby timber harvest access areas. The areas more than ½ mile west of the highway corridor from MP 317 to the borough boundary. The areas more than ½ mile east of the highway corridor from MP 310 to the borough boundary and to the Tanana River.
- Inside the Borough: Zones include Skinny Dick’s Logging Road, Nenana Ridge Forestry Road and Bonanza Creek Forestry Area.
🟡 Level 2 ‘SET’:
- Outside the Borough: Parks Highway MP 308-317 extending west of the highway to include homes along Little Goldstream Road, agricultural areas, and the Alaska Railroad. Extending east of the highway to include homes and agricultural areas north of Little Goldstream Creek. And for residents within ½ mile on each side of the highway from MP 317 to the borough boundary.
- Inside the Borough: Residents with ½ mile on each side of the highway from the borough boundary to MP 338. The Standard Cache zone that includes the middle portion of Standard Creek Road and the beginning of Cache Creek Road.
🟢 Level 1 ‘READY’:
- Outside the Borough: Parks Highway MP 305-309, extending to the Tanana River.
- Inside the Borough: Evacuation zones Parks Mile 338-342, Old Nenana Highway, Standard Creek, Old Ridge Trail, and Cache Creek Road.
Evacuation shelters in both Nenana and Fairbanks have closed. Shelter options for both people and animals will be provided again if they are needed due to evacuations or fire behavior. Call Fairbanks North Star Borough at 907-459-1308 for additional information.
Fire Weather: Wednesday was a transition day back to high pressure and fair weather after the rain on Tuesday. Fire activity remained dampened from higher humidity and light precipitation. Clear skies were seen, with the winds shifting to the northeast. Thursday will be sunny, with highs around 71. As fuels start to dry out Thursday, spread potential will increase in some areas still holding heat. Isolated tree torching and spotting remains possible, with localized areas putting up smoke.
Fire Update: Containment of the fire line along the Parks Highway has facilitated crews working in other priority areas across both fires. Containment means fire managers are confident that the fire will not spread across control lines. Achieving containment takes time, with firefighters extinguishing areas of heat and removing burnable material from the fire’s edge 60-90 feet into the “black” burned area. They touch every piece of ground finding hidden heat in the duff and heavy fuels. This is called “cold-trailing”. They dig out hot areas and drown them in water until extinguished. This “mop up” takes a considerable amount of time. So don’t mistake a low containment figure to mean that no work is being accomplished. Multiple miles of dozer line have been constructed, fire-damaged hazard trees have been removed so firefighters can work safely in these areas. Cold-trailing and mop up processes will continue.
On the Goldstream Creek Fire, crews adjusted folding water tanks on Wednesday, to be out of the way of driveways and homes in the Little Goldstream community as residents return due to the downgrade of evacuation levels. Dozer line has been completed tying in with the railroad south of Twomile Lake. This work has added containment line and mitigated concerns about unburned fuels in this area. Sprinklers are being installed on the wooden bridges north of the fire, and allotments in this area were brushed and assessed for impacts from the fire. The northeast finger of fire has three crews working and camping in the area. Supplies were delivered to the crews Wednesday with the help of a helicopter. Crews also worked the southern edge of the fire off of the highway, laying hose around a spot fire.
On the Bonanza Fire, crews continued work towards containment along the west and east ends of the fire. They also scouted north of the Tanana River to find a route to reach allotments without use of a boat. They are planning for assessments of work needed for structure protection. Dozer work was also finished on the indirect line to the west of the fire running north to the highway.
Road Safety: Although most firefighting activity has moved off the Parks Highway, motorists are asked to please use extra caution and watch for firefighters and equipment, especially between MP 318 to 340. Pilot car operations are taking place through an active construction zone unrelated to fire activities. For more information about this construction project go to: https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/parks319to325/. For real-time road updates, visit 511.alaska.gov.
More Information: For official updates, visit Alaska Wildland Fire Information at akfireinfo.com or follow facebook.com/AK.Forestry.
For a PDF of this update, click here.
For the interactive Alaska Wildland Fire Information Map Series go here: https://arcg.is/1a0yT03
For video briefings and more fire-related content from the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection, visit our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AlaskaDNRDOF
Public Information Line: (907) 331-0454
Email: 2025.nenanaridgecomplex@firenet.gov
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, Alaska DNR - Division of Forestry (DOF)
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 