Bonanza Creek Fire (#238): 12,586 acres, 22% containment
Goldstream Creek Fire (#270): 20,483 acres, 42% containment
Personnel: 276
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: As a cold front approaches, it brings with it cool and moist conditions. Monday will be mostly cloudy with numerous showers. The maximum temp will be 64 degrees with a relative humidity of 67%. Surface winds will be southwest between 6 and 9 mph. Winds at the ridgetops will be 10 to 20 mph out of the southwest.
Fire Update: Operations on the Nenana Ridge Complex progressed smoothly on Sunday. Pike Hotshots worked a section of uncontained line on the Goldstream Creek Fire just west of their spike camp and north of Skinny Dick’s Road. Nulato Hills Type 2 Crew worked an area along Toghotthele Road, on the eastern side of the unburned pocket east of Twomile Lake. The crew located some minor heat using drones and gridding. Gridding has proven to be an effective method for detecting heat that infrared drones may have missed.
On the Bonanza Creek Fire, the Northeastern 7 Type 2 Initial Attack Crew worked dozer berms on the northeastern side of the fire, near Camp 78 Road. Three engines continue to patrol the southern portion of the Bonanza, which remains in patrol and monitor status. A mastication project was successfully completed around private residences near the Parks Highway, between Mileposts 329 and 330. These efforts focused on cleaning up jack-strawed trees around homes.
A squad from Pike Hotshots conducted a snagging mission near Milepost 326 along the Parks Highway. White Mountain Type 2 IA Crew worked on a section between Old Nenana Road and Little Goldstream Creek, with Fairbanks 1 Type 2 Crew gridding behind them. The Yukon Type 2 IA Crew targeted hotspots in an area south of Little Goldstream Creek and north of Upper Grouse Road along the western edge of the Bonanza Creek Fire. Snagging operations on Nenana Ridge Road were also completed on Sunday.
Heavy equipment, hazard trees, ash pits, and highway traffic remain potential hazards. As hunting season approaches, hunters and recreators are asked to stay out of the fire areas due to ongoing safety concerns. Crews are still actively engaged in firefighting 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 