Three firefighters finished a five-day Dalton Highway patrol Thursday to keep tabs on a couple of fires burning near the Arctic Circle about 190 miles north of Fairbanks. The Dalton Highway gang of BLM Alaska Fire Service Fire Specialist Jacob… Read More ›
Active Wildland Fire
Munson Creek Fire south of Chena Hot Springs grows to 150 acres but still no threat
A wildfire burning 5 miles south of Chena Hot Springs has grown to an estimated 150 acres as of Thursday afternoon and continues to put up a significant afternoon smoke column visible from Chena Hot Springs Resort and Chena Hot… Read More ›
Wind pushes the Dry Creek Fire four miles to the northwest
Strong southeasterly winds pushed the northern edge of the Dry Creek Fire (#195) four miles to the northwest toward the Tanana River Wednesday afternoon. The fire will likely continue to be active today due to the forecasted dry, windy weather…. Read More ›
About Mountain Fire near McGrath reports containment increased to 90% – drone to map remaining interior heat over weekend
#AboutMountainFire near McGrath reports containment increased again today and is now at 90% and remains 2,135 acres. By end of shift today, there will be 33 resources assigned to Pat Johnson’s Type 3 Incident Management Team. These resources include the… Read More ›
Rain helps smokejumpers, aircraft quell many of the two dozen new fires in Northwest Alaska
The combination of effort on the ground and from the air was successful in catching several northwestern fires before they could impact nearby Native allotments or structures. This, coupled isolated thunderstorms that accompanied the lightning that is to blame for… Read More ›
Firefighters working to protect trail shelter 5 miles south of Chena Hot Springs from growing, encroaching wildfire
Firefighters from the Fairbanks Area Forestry station have been helicoptered in to clear trees around a shelter cabin on the Angel Rocks to Chena Hot Springs Trail in the Chena River State Recreation area to protect it from an 80-acre… Read More ›
Containment at 84% on 2,135-acre About Mountain Fire near McGrath
Containment of the 2,135-acre About Mountain Fire near McGrath in southwest Alaska climbed to 84 percent Tuesday as firefighters continued accessing hard-to-reach areas of the fire in hopes of getting the fire fully contained before high winds arrive today and… Read More ›
Lightning triggers at least a dozen new fires in northwestern Alaska
A wave of lightning moved across the northwestern part of the state Tuesday afternoon, triggering about a dozen new fires from Galena north to the Noatak River Valley. Some of the new fires drew quick response from smokejumpers, water-scooping aircraft and another aircraft to help coordinate the suppression efforts and relaying situational information back to BLM AFS Galena Zone fire managers in Galena.
Smoke impacts communities south of two large fires burning in the Northwest Arctic
Smoke from two large lightning-caused tundra fires burning north of Kotzebue is impacting surrounding villages to the south. The Noatak River Fire (#232) burning in the Noatak National Preserve 120 miles northeast of Kotzebue grew significantly over the past few… Read More ›
Full containment expected on George Lake Fire southeast of Delta Jct on Wednesday
A hotshot crew is nearing full containment of the 6-acre George Lake Fire (#225) located approximately 40 miles southeast of Delta Junction. The fire was reported to be 85 percent contained as of Tuesday morning and the 20-person Baker River… Read More ›