Crews continued to battle the Ninetyeight Fire (#218) yesterday as extreme fire weather persisted for a third consecutive day. Winds and low relative humidity threatened established fire lines. Firefighters on the southwest corner, from Mile 33 to Mile 35 along the Salcha River, engaged the fire directly while bucket drops and scoopers supported containment efforts. Although the fire spotted outside the firebreaks a few times, firefighters, assisted by helicopter drops, successfully extinguished these spot fires.

The Ninetyeight Fire (#218) remained active yesterday under continued hot and dry conditions. It is now 10,544 acres in size, with some growth to the north and west. On the southwest side, the fire is burning in hardwoods, which has moderated fire spread. Yesterday scooper aircraft and helicopters conducted water drops on the southwest corner from Salcha to the boundary of military land to assist hotshots in keeping that portion of the fire in check.

Higher temperatures, lower humidity, and winds increased fire behavior yesterday on the Ninetyeight Fire (#218), burning north of the Salcha River. The fire was most active on the western edge and in the southwest corner, with some backing and torching. Some flareups were observed in the interior of the fire perimeter, though not on the side of the fire near the river. There was some movement to the west, where a large smoke column was visible.

On Sunday, helicopter bucket work continued on the north side of the Ninetyeight Fire (#218) to cool hotspots where fire behavior was active, including the northeast side where fire was backing towards the north in one section with creeping, smoldering, and some torching in the hills of military land to the north. Heat was observed in pockets but was not continuous. Fire behavior was not very active on the southern side.