The week began with cloudy, cool and wet weather which limited fire activity over much of the state. The Kenai Peninsula was forecast to have the highest fire danger as it had the driest fuels. Isolated thunderstorm chances began to increase midweek. Thunderstorm activity shifted from… Read More ›
Firefighters wrapped up work on the Cecil Fire, and others continued making steady progress on the nearby Big Fire. The two incidents were managed together in Ruby by a Type 3 incident management team. The lightning‑caused fires were detected on June 26 and are located about 11 miles east of Ruby, separated by roughly half a mile. Neither fire is threatening the community or nearby Native allotments.
The nine-person Woodhawk Wildland Fire Module from Montana is demobilizing from the Big Fire near Ruby today and will support the eight smokejumpers already working the Bean Fire, which is currently estimated at 10% containment.
5 PM – The Owhat fire was considered contained and controlled today at 3 PM with a final size of 23 acres. Fire crews and smokejumpers worked throughout the day to put in perimeter lines and mop-up any hotspots to… Read More ›
The Bean Fire (#362) was initially estimated at 80 acres and was burning at a moderate rate of spread, with fire running and torching through brush and tussocks. Smokejumpers on scene reported that water‑scooping aircraft were very effective in stopping most of the fire’s forward movement.
6:43 PM Update: The DFFP helicopter and the Single Engine Scoopers made beneficial water drops on the fire. The Anaconda Fire (#361) perimeter has been kept at 1 acre and is smoldering in black spruce. Firefighters are continuing to tie… Read More ›
The fire is estimated at 25 acres. Smokejumpers were able to encircle the fire and reached 50% containment Saturday night. Today, they will continue targeting and extinguishing hot spots. They report that fuels in the area are dry, however, the fire is not burning deep, making remaining heat easier to extinguish.
Firefighters took advantage of overcast skies, brief light rain, and minimal fire activity on Saturday to increase containment on the Siruk Fire (#340), burning 23 miles northwest of Allakaket, to 60%. The fire is estimated at 619 acres.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chena Hotshots arrived Saturday and reinforced control line on the eastern flank, while smokejumpers worked to secure line on the western side.
Eight smokejumpers are working to contain a new wildfire in the Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge. The Cone Fire (#353) was detected Saturday using satellite imagery. The fire is 21.5 acres and 50% contained tonight.
Eight smokejumpers, three single-engine water-scooping planes, and an air attack plane responded Saturday to the Ready Bullion Fire (#356) near the airport in Livengood and contained it.
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 