Cabin Protection Advances as Weather Moderates Near McDonald Fire – Alaska Wildfire Information

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The forecasted weather conditions should continue to moderate the McDonald fire (#119) compared to what was experienced during the first days of the fire. This will give firefighters more time to fine-tune the pump systems in the cabins in case conditions become hot, dry and windy again. Firefighters have assessed the scene of the last two cabins and will begin implementing protective measures. They will also make improvements to two helipads identified west of the Tanana River near the cabins. No change in scope is expected Thursday.

The fire received brief light rain overnight Wednesday. The BLM Alaska Fire Department will install a portable weather station closer to the southern edge of the fire to provide fire managers with more accurate weather information to use in addition to that produced by the weather station located at Blair Lakes.

Firefighters identified a small military survival structure destroyed by the fire. The shelter was located well inside the military training range and near the Tanana River.

The fire is located 9 miles southwest of Salcha, between Dry Creek and the Tanana River, almost entirely within the Tanana Flats training area. A significant amount of spruce trees south of the fire, on state-managed lands, pose more risk than the more consistent hardwood forest on the northern edge.

A Division of Forestry and Fire Protection (DOF) air tanker dropped water on the southern edge of the fire early Thursday afternoon. Skill drops are performed to keep skills and equipment current when not in use for fire suppression actions.

The DOF also has 42 personnel deployed near the McDonald Fire in Harding Lake. Pioneer Peak Hotshots and Gannet Glacier Type 2 initial attack crews are providing fuels mitigation in Harding Lake State Park and are ready to respond to any new fires in the interior.

Weather forecast: The region will see partly sunny skies with areas of smoke on Thursday. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast across the fire area over the next few days and into the weekend. Gusty winds may accompany rain showers and thunderstorms. Higher humidity levels of 46% during the day and 86% are also expected to keep fire behavior moderate.

Burning permit: There is no DOF burn hold for the area. Please check or call the Fairbanks Area Forestry Burn Permit Hotline at (907) 451-2631 for the most recent updates.

Air quality: The Alaska Department of Conservation has issued an air quality advisory for central and eastern Alaska until 2 p.m. Thursday, June 13, due to the McDonald Fire and wildfires in the Yukon Territory. Find information on how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke on the Smoke Management page at akfireinfo.com.

Evacuation notice: The Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB) has issued a Level 2 Evacuation Notice: SET for the approximately 20 cabins located near the southern edge of the fire. The FNSB also placed areas along the Lower Salcha River, Harding Lake, Hollies Acres and Canaday neighborhoods into READY status. Find more information and an interactive map of these areas on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Services website.

To receive emergency alerts via SMS, create an account on Smart911. You can opt-out of receiving direct wildfire alerts by texting “FNSBWildfireAlerts” to 67283. You can opt out by replying “Stop.”

-BLM-

Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Department, PO Box 35005 1541 Gaffney Road, Fort Wainwright, Ak 99703

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The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS), located in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, provides wildland fire suppression services on more than 240 million acres of Department of the Interior and Native Corporation lands in Alaska. In addition, the AFS has other statewide responsibilities, including: interpreting fire management policy; oversight of the BLM Alaska Aviation program; fuels management projects; and the operation and maintenance of advanced communications and computing systems such as the Alaska Lightning Detection System. AFS also maintains a national incident support cache with an inventory of 18.1 million. The Alaska Fire Department provides wildfire suppression services for America's “Last Frontier” on an interagency basis with the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Forest Service USDA, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Alaska.