Bonanza Creek Fire (#238): 12,566 acres, 15% containment
Goldstream Creek Fire (#270): 20,483 acres, 41% containment
Personnel: 363
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: Friday is forecast to be partly to mostly cloudy with possible showers and thunderstorms. Max temps are predicted to fall between 59-67 degrees. Relative humidities around 50-60%. Winds will be northeast at 3-6 mph in the valleys and 5-10 mph with gusts up to 15 mph at the ridgetops. High pressure continues into the next week, creating fair weather conditions with moderate warming and drying. The fuel bed is drying back out going into the weekend. As it dries out, pockets of heat will determine where fire activity picks back up.
Fire Update: The Nenana Ridge Complex has seen substantial progress in containment over the past several days. On the Goldstream Creek Fire, the northern most edge is in monitor and patrol status, with little fire activity throughout the area. Wrapping around to the eastern portion of the fire, in the zone west of Ohio Creek and northeast of Skinny Dick’s Road, containment line has been established. Pike Interagency Hotshot Crew moved out of the area Thursday. A helicopter assisted with the move, sling-loading the crew’s gear out. Platte Canyon Suppression Module has been working an area just north of Straight Creek, adjacent to where Pike IHC had camped. As Platte Canyon demobilizes, Pike IHC will shift to that area to continue suppression work.
Infrared drones have been utilized throughout the complex to identify areas of heat. The information gathered by the drones is used to map hot spots and assist in the strategic positioning of resources. Drones have identified that the majority of heat remaining on the eastern side of the Goldstream Creek Fire is located where Platte Canyon and Pike have been working.
The Bonanza Creek Fire is seeing continued backhaul operations on the northeastern side. Crews are removing water-handling equipment as they achieve containment in this zone. Engines patrolled the southeastern section of the line, which has been designated for monitor status. Crews also worked snag patches in sections that parallel the Parks Highway to mitigate future forest road obstructions from fire-weakened trees, which could fall during wind events. Infrared drones continue to detect heat in a southwestern pocket of the Bonanza Creek Fire, and crews will continue working in that area for the foreseeable future. Felling operations are underway along Nenana Ridge Road to improve accessibility for logging operations to return to work when it is safe to do so.
Heavy equipment, hazard trees, ash pits, and motor vehicles on the highway remain potential hazards. As hunting season approaches, hunters and recreators are asked to stay out of the fire areas due to ongoing safety concerns and threats to public and firefighter safety. Crews remain actively engaged in fire suppression operations.
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 