Crews ordered for fires near Central and Circle – Alaska wildfire information

The crews were ordered to join the hard-working smokejumpers on the Puppy Fire of Deception (#252) burning near Central and Flasco's Fire (#259) south of the Circle.

Three highly skilled and united teams arrived in Fairbanks from California on Wednesday. The Smith River Hotshots and Lassen Hotshots will travel 150 to 160 miles up the Steese Highway on Thursday to help smokejumpers already on the ground trying to put out these two fires.

Additionally, an Idaho Type 3 Incident Management Team is preparing to resume efforts on a cluster of fires, including the Deception Pup and Flasco fires, in northeast Alaska.

At an estimated 150 acres and burning near a cluster of subdivisions and Native homes north of mile 124.5 Steese Highway, the Deception Pup Fire was the highest priority in Alaska Wednesday. The 21 assigned smoke bombers laid a hose around half of the fire Tuesday in anticipation of using water to cool the edges. The fire died down early Wednesday morning, but they expected things to pick up again as the day got hotter.

Paratroopers said air drops of water and retardants were effective in slowing the progress of the fire Tuesday evening. Water collectors and a helicopter continued their efforts Wednesday as paratroopers continued to draw a line around the fire.

The Flasco Fire, just 30 miles away, threatens another cluster of burning subdivisions and Native homes just south of Circle. This fire burns in thick spruce wood, requiring extensive sawing to build a fire line. Smokejumpers estimated it was 5% contained Wednesday morning. The 145 smoke bombers assigned will continue to build a fire line in hopes of keeping the fire within a 7-acre perimeter.

In both cases, shovels and helicopters dropped water on the fire to help cool it.

The concern is red flag conditions coming Thursday in an area already plagued by persistent hot and dry conditions. Thursday's weather conditions include not only temperatures reaching the 80s and possibly as high as 90, but the area could see easterly winds and dry lightning. There is a potential for thunderstorms in the area on Thursday which could bring erratic wind gusts and a risk of dry lightning. This could lead to rapid growth of existing fires and dangerous new fires in interior Alaska.

Other fires the Idaho team will manage include:

THE Crazy Fire (#152) is approximately 329 acres and burning in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, approximately 46 miles north of Steese Highway. It is in a Limited Management Option Area and will be monitored. This fire caused by lightning was detected on June 17.

THE American Fire (#262) started Tuesday and is burning about 15 miles northeast of Mount Prindle and about 20 miles north of mile marker 77 of the Steese Highway. This lightning-caused fire is approximately 7 acres in size and burning in a limited management option area. He will be monitored by the team.

THE Fire Ikheenjik (#184) is burning on BLM-managed lands nearly 12 miles southeast of Circle Hot Springs and 20 miles southeast of Central, on the east bank of the Ikheenjik River. This lightning-caused fire was detected on June 18 and was estimated Wednesday at 35 acres. Burns are subject to limited management options and will be monitored.

-BLM-

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

Need public domain images to supplement news coverage of the Alaska BLM Fire Department in Alaska?

Visit our Flickr channel!
Learn more at www.blm.gov/AlaskaFireService, on Facebook and Twitter.

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; fuel 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 wildland fire 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.

Categories: Active Wildfire, BLM Alaska Fire Department

Keywords: American fire, central and circular cluster fires, Crazy Fire, Deception Pup, Flasco Fire, Ikheenjik Fire