Lightning strikes ignited five new wildfires in the area around Bethel, McGrath and Dillingham on Wednesday, bringing the total number of current active fires in the Southwest Area to 20, according to the Alaska Division of Forestry’s McGrath office. Firefighters… Read More ›
Alaska Division of Forestry
Swan Lake Fire doubles in size to almost 7,000 acres
The lightning-caused Swan Lake Fire has roughly doubled in size to an estimated 6,951 acres and continues to burn in a Limited protection area of the Kenai National Wildfire Refuge. The fire has burned west into the 2017 East Fork… Read More ›
More lightning produces more wildfires in Southwest Alaska
Wildland firefighters are scrambling to respond to multiple lightning-caused fires in Southwest Alaska as a result of thunderstorms the past four days. As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, 13 new wildfires were reported in the area around McGrath and Dillingham –… Read More ›
Fairbanks state forestry monitoring small wildfire near Mile 62 of Steese Highway
The Alaska Division of Forestry’s Fairbanks Area office is continuing to monitor a small wildfire burning about 1 ½ miles west of the Steese Highway near milepost 62. Smoke from the 25-acre Cripple Creek Fire (#201) is visible from U.S…. Read More ›
Swan Lake Fire continues to grow with warm, dry conditions
The lightning-caused Swan Lake Fire was estimated at 3,665 acres after a reconnaissance flight Tuesday evening, an increase of approximately 1,000 acres from Monday. Most of the new growth was to the northwest and northeast away from the Sterling highway… Read More ›
Lightning sparks multiple new wildfires in Southwest Alaska
Three new lightning-caused fires were reported in Southwest Alaska on Sunday, bringing the total number of current active fires in the Southwest Area to 10 as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the Division of Forestry office in McGrath. Five fires… Read More ›
Swan Lake Fire on Kenai Peninsula now estimated at 3,500 acres
With another warm, dry day on the Kenai Peninsula, the Swan Lake Fire (#181) burning north of the Sterling Highway continued to grow. The lightning-caused fire was estimated at 3,500 acres after a reconnaissance flight Tuesday evening, an increase of… Read More ›
State forestry mopping up two lightning-caused wildfires in southwest, monitoring four others
Wildland firefighters continue work to mop up two lightning-caused fires in southwest Alaska while the State Division of Forestry is monitoring four other fires in the area started by lightning in the past two days. An eight-person initial attack squad… Read More ›
Lightning ignites multiple wildfires on Kenai Peninsula
More than 50 wildland firefighters are responding to a 121-acre wildfire on the Kenai Peninsula, one of several wildfires on the Peninsula started by lightning associated with afternoon thunderstorms Wednesday. The Tustumena Lake Fire (#179) is located in the Caribou… Read More ›
Lightning sparks new wildfires in southwest Alaska
A rash of lightning sparked three new wildfires in southwest Alaska on Tuesday, two of which the Alaska Division of Forestry is working to suppress and one that is being monitored. Approximately 3,700 lightning strikes were detected across Alaska on… Read More ›
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 