Strong lightning activity sparks new fires in Alaska – Alaska Wildland Fire Information

The number of fires in Alaska is increasing, as several waves of thunderstorms with heavy lightning activity have moved across the state in recent days. There were 74 active wildfires as of 4 p.m. Friday, with 10 new fires starting in the past 24 hours. Although lightning often starts wildfires immediately, some fires, called persistent or dormant fires, do not appear for several days. These fires can smolder below the surface until temperatures warm, vegetation dries, and wind breathes new life into the smoldering hot spot.

Most new fires are burning in remote areas of Alaska and areas with limited management options. They do not immediately threaten people or valuable sites and are in surveillance status.

The Smokejumpers are on their way to new beginnings in the Alaska Fire Department BLM protection zone covering the northern half of the state. The majority of air assets were in the air as of 4 p.m. Friday, responding to lightning strikes in the Galena area and the southwest area near McGrath.

On Thursday, eight smoke bombs and four single-engine water scoops successfully prevented the Starvation Fire (No. 195) from spreading beyond an estimated 10 acres. Paratroopers continue to secure the edge to prevent the fire from spreading. It is burning in tundra with pockets of black spruce, about 5 miles north of mile marker 102 of the Elliott Highway.

Eight smoke bombs and two single-engine water trucks responded to the Checkerman Fire (No. 189) Wednesday afternoon, burning 11 miles west of the intersection of Dalton and Elliott highways, north of Fairbanks . Burning in tundra and black spruce less than 5 miles from a cabin, the fire was contained to 17 acres with rapid aircraft assistance. Firefighters remained on scene to monitor and extinguish the fire and returned to Fairbanks Thursday evening.

Smokejumpers contained and controlled the 29-acre Garland Fire (#180) and the 5-acre Rabbit Fire (#181), both near Ambler, and demobilized Thursday. These fires caused by lightning broke out on Tuesday.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, 183 fires had burned nearly 83,355 acres in Alaska, nearly half of which was in the McDonald Fire southeast of Fairbanks, or about 42,000 acres.

-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 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 Wildfires, AK Fire Info, BLM Alaska Fire Service

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