Bonanza Creek Fire (#238): 12,566 acres, 15% containment
Goldstream Creek Fire (#270): 20,483 acres, 33% containment
Personnel: 358
Evacuation Information: Evacuation levels were downgraded Monday, July 21st 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: Residents within ½ mile on each side of the highway from MP 317 north to the borough boundary.
- Inside the Borough: Residents with ½ mile on each side of the highway from the borough boundary to north 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 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.
- Inside the Borough: Evacuation zones Parks Mile 338-342, Old Nenana Highway, Standard Creek, Old Ridge Trail, and Cache Creek Road.
Fire Weather: Wednesday will be mostly cloudy with a chance of scattered showers. Temperatures will remain cool with a high of 63 degrees. A slight increase in relative humidity is predicted to fall between 55-65%. Winds will be 3-6 mph, west-northwest in the valleys and 5-10 mph at the ridge tops, with gusts up to 15 mph. Pulses of moisture have helped to moderate fire behavior. There is minimal potential for fire spread on Wednesday. It is expected there will still be heat in dozer berms, heavier fuels and smoldering in the duff layer.
Fire Update: On Tuesday, the transition to the incoming Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT) began. An IMT is a group of trained personnel organized to manage large-scale emergency incidents such as wildfires, floods, hurricanes and other disasters. The team follows the structure of the Incident Command System (ICS) and is responsible for the overall management of the incident including operations, planning, logistics, finance, and public information. While the team may be transitioning, the contact information for the public information line will remain the same. Information can be reached by phone at (907) 331-0454 or by email at 2025.nenanaridgecomplex@firenet.gov.
With a significant decrease in fire activity and secure containment line around the community of Little Goldstream, strategy has pivoted to include pulling out equipment the past two operational periods. This work is expected to be completed in the following days. Water handling equipment from the northernmost portion of the Goldstream Creek Fire was also removed due to successful containment in the division. Pike Hotshots will continue reinforcing control lines along the northeast portion of the Goldstream Creek Fire.
On the Bonanza Creek Fire, drones are being used to find hot spots. Pumps and water handling equipment will stay on the northeastern zone of Bonanza Creek until the area is secure and shows minimal to no heat. The southern portion of Bonanza has been in monitor status and remains a non-issue with indirect line around it. There is still some work to be done in order to achieve sufficient containment in some of the western portions which fall in alignment with the Little Goldstream community. The mastication line remains on hold while the access road dries out from previous days rain. The areas of concern moving forward will be heat persisting in the underground duff layer. There is the potential for fire to reemerge if a couple weeks of dry weather persists as the duff layer is deep in areas and requires significant moisture. The primary focus is to continue to access and extinguish the heat.
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 