The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS) located at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, provides wildland fire suppression services for over 244 million acres of Department of the Interior and Native Corporation Lands in Alaska. In addition, AFS has other statewide responsibilities that include: interpretation of fire management policy; oversight of the BLM Alaska Aviation program; fuels management projects; and operating and maintaining advanced communication and computer systems such as the Alaska Lightning Detection System. AFS also maintains a National Incident Support Cache with a $10 million inventory. The Alaska Fire Service provides wildland fire suppression services for America’s “Last Frontier” on an interagency basis with the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Military in Alaska.
After Wednesday, there will be no remaining firefighting personnel assigned to the approximately 50,000-acre fire in the field or at Manley Hot Springs. Instead, BLM Alaska Fire Service will keep a close eye on the fire with daily flights and manage it from Fairbanks to ensure none of the numerous sites firefighters have spent weeks working to keep safe are impacted.
Firefighters are wrapping up work to make sure fire control lines help keep the more than 51,000-acre Dry Creek Fire (#195) in check during the hotter, drier weather predicted to start this weekend. Fire managers don’t expect significant fire growth despite the warmer weather thanks the firefighters’ hard work and the Zitziana River to the east and an area burned in 2018 to the southwest.
The cooler, wetter weather has greatly reduced fire behavior on the Dry Creek Fire in the past few days. Due to this, the number of personnel working on the fire has decreased as people have started to hit the end of their 14-day assignment.
Firefighters are mopping up the Deadwood Fire (#315) after a quick response by BLM Alaska Fire Service Friday kept it limited to 33 acres.
Using an aggressive ground and air attack, firefighters were able to quickly quell a small fire burning about 13 miles southwest of Chalkyitsik and about 32 miles east of Fort Yukon Sunday. The Grass River Fire was kept to 1.8 acres.
Fire activity moderated on the Dry Creek Fire (#195) a few days of substantial growth. The fire burned approximately 15,800 acres since June 30 – mostly to the west – and was estimated at 45,643 acres by the end of Saturday
Smokejumpers, aided by aircraft, were able to corral the Deadwood Fire (#315) burning near Central late Friday night. Firefighters will spend Saturday tracking down any spot fires that sprung up outside the main fire’s perimeter and making sure the sawed control line around the main fire holds. The BLM Alaska Fire Service Midnight Sun Hotshots will join the 16 smokejumpers on the ground today to help work toward the goal of making sure the 33-acre fire is completely extinguished.
The BLM Alaska Fire Service is keeping an eye on a new fire burning in the military training lands about 13 miles south of the Chena Hot Springs Road. The Stuart Creek Fire (#308) started on Thursday and is burning in pocket of vegetation that was previously left untouched by the 2013 Stuart Creek 2 Fire.
mokejumpers and aircraft are aggressively attacking a new wildfire burning south of Central. Sixteen smokejumpers, six water-dropping Fire Boss aircraft, and an air tanker are busy trying to keep the Deadwood Fire (#315) limited to the 40 acres it’s already burned.
The Dry Creek Fire burning south of Manley Hot Springs was active Thursday, gaining about 8,000 acres; mostly to the west. The fire is still south of the Tanana River and west of the Zitziana River, which is two of the goals for firefighters managing the 40,459-acre lightning-caused fire. Another is to protect cabins and Native allotments in the area.
