Bonanza Creek Fire (#238): 12,559 acres, 15% containment
Goldstream Creek Fire (#270): 20,483 acres, 21% containment
Personnel: 374
Evacuation Information: Evacuation levels were downgraded Wednesday, July 16th by the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management along the Parks Highway corridor.
🔴 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 312 to the borough boundary and to the Tanana River east of the Maich Logging Rd.
- 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, west of the Maich Logging Rd, including Farmview Subdivision. 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: Monday is predicted to see cool, cloudy conditions with scattered showers throughout the day. The fire received between .1 and .2 inches of rain overnight. This moisture will bring with it higher relative humidities. Lower temperatures will fall between 61 and 69 degrees. The cooler, wetter conditions should help moderate fire behavior significantly. Surface spread concerns are low with the light fuels taking up moisture overnight. Heavier fuels like downed trees will still hold heat and continued consumption of the below ground duff layer is expected.
Fire Update: As of Sunday, the structure protection group for the Little Goldstream community has been dissolved and moved to an adjacent division. Several trucks were sent in to shuttle out equipment and crews worked on pulling hoses and water pumps in the area on the Parks Highway between Mile Post 310 and 314. They will continue to remove structure protection gear over the next few days. In addition to the backhaul mission, the Nulato crew has been checking the edges along the unburned island near Twomile Lake. They are continuing to work the heat along the eastern side of the pocket. A drone conducted a reconnaissance flight Sunday to assist in finding persistent heat in the area. This section has seen significant progress gaining containment over the past few days.
Aerial resources conducted sling-load missions today up on the northeast portion of the Goldstream Fire where two crews have been camped out. The purpose of this mission was to assist in the relocation of the Pike Spike Camp, which is being moved to a different area in the same Division. Pike Hotshots and the White Mountain Type 2 Initial Attack Crew have been mopping up along the fire’s edge from opposite ends of the northeast finger towards each other to address areas of concern and work towards containment. Crews have been successful in gaining considerable containment on the south side of the Goldstream Creek Fire above Skinny’s Road all the way to approximately MP 322 on the Parks Highway.
Snag trees around a squirrel midden near MP 331 that continues to anchor in heat caused safety concerns. A masticator is being used to remove the hazard trees to create a safer work zone for firefighters on the Bonanza Creek Fire. Excavators are breaking up berms along the dozer lines that still contain heat on the east side of the fire. On the west side, the Aravaipa Hotshots and Payette Suppression Module are working to secure the areas running parallel to the south of the Parks Highway.
No Drone Zone: Flying drones near wildfires is illegal and extremely dangerous, often leading to the grounding of firefighting aircraft and potentially causing harm to firefighters and property. A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) is in place over the Nenana Ridge Complex. For more information go to https://tfr.faa.gov
Road Safety: As you drive the Parks Highway, you may not see much firefighting activity, but crews are working deeper in the fire area and are still accessing these areas via the highway. 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.
Click the image for a downloadable PDF map of the Nenana Ridge Complex.
More Information: For official updates, visit Alaska Wildland Fire Information at facebook.com/AK.Forestry.
For a PDF version 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 