Steady Progress Continues to Protect Cabins Near the McDonald Fire – Alaska Wildfire Information

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The McDonald Fire experienced thunderstorms with lightning and about 0.15 inches of rain Thursday evening. An overview of the fire Thursday afternoon showed minimal fire activity – smoldering and creeping – with some smoke at the northern edge. No fire growth was observed. The fire persists west of the Tanana River.

Isolated to scattered showers will continue the rest of the day Friday with widely scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. These storms could be accompanied by strong and gusty winds, small hail and lightning. A portable weather station was installed Thursday to provide more accurate weather forecasts for the fire zone closest to where firefighters are working.

BLM's Alaska Fire Department Smokejumpers, Midnight Sun Hotshot Crew and Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection (DOF) White Mountain Pod continue to work on protecting the cabin structure south of the fire along 5 Mile Creek. This includes more cuts and clearances around cubicles to create defensible space. Smokejumpers reached the final two remote cabin sites on Thursday and will begin work on constructing protective measures on Friday.

Firefighters are removing trees weakened by the fire along the creek to avoid a purge which would block access to and exit from the area. Keeping the creek clear will allow firefighters and cottagers to travel safely after the firefighters leave.

The DOF has 42 personnel stationed near the McDonald Fire in Harding Lake. These crews, the Pioneer Peak Hotshots and Gannet Glacier, continue fuels mitigation work in Harding Lake State Park and are ready to respond quickly to any new start-ups in the interior.

Weather forecast: Thunderstorms will end before midnight, but isolated or scattered showers will continue Saturday morning. Hotter and drier conditions are expected this weekend with a slight risk of thunderstorms in the evening. A high temperature of 69 degrees with low humidity of 40% is expected for Friday.

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's air quality advisory for central and eastern Alaska has expired and one has not been issued for this area. Find information on how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke on the Smoke Management page on 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.

-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; 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.