Thunderstorms passed through the 547-acre Starry Fire #234 Tuesday night bringing high winds, lighting, and rain, helping moderate fire behavior. The fire remains at 50% containment.
The goal for the day is to assess the thunderstorm’s effect on the fire, and once safety is provided for, secure 10 feet in around the fire. High winds can cause trees to fall over blocking roads and sections of line. Heavy rains might make the ground soft and make dozer lines muddy and tough to move through. Firefighter and public safety are the number one priority for the incident.
The Mooseheart Type 2 Crew and Clearwater Type 2 Crew arrived to replace the Midnight Suns Hotshot Crew who was pulled to a fire elsewhere in the state. They will plug in on the east side of the fire with Fairbanks 1 and secure line. On the north and west side of the fire, the Yukon Type 2 IA Fire Crew is working with the Pioneer Peak Hotshot Crew to clean up line, with Pioneer focused on a hot horseshoe shaped section of dozer line, according to Starry Division Carl Erhart.
Down on the south side resources are focused on continuing to clean up a slop and a 1.5 acre spot fire, with the goal of getting them completely extinguished today. Additionally, resources will search outside the perimeter of the fire for heat on the south and southeast side, according to Starry Division Dylan Howard.
Additional resources have arrived including a federal fire engine from the Tongass National Forest and a state engine from Palmer, AK.
The total number of resources on the fire is 162.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, Alaska DNR - Division of Forestry & Fire Protection (DFFP)
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 