Fire managers have formulated a plan to manage
a 198-acre wildfire that started in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on
Thursday evening.
The East Fork Fire was reported at 6:25 p.m.
east of the East Fork of the Moose River, approximately 4 ½ miles northeast of
the community of Sterling and the Sterling Highway. The lightning-caused fire
grew rapidly and was estimated at 100 acres by the time air attack personnel
arrived.
The fire is located in a limited suppression
area and the primary fuel type is black spruce with mixed hardwoods. Given the
volatility of black spruce, the fire exhibited extreme fire behavior Thursday
night with crowning and 30- to 40-foot flame lengths in areas of black spruce.
Due to the extreme fire behavior and the fire’s proximity to local
infrastructure, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the decision to take
suppression action on a portion of the fire.
An air tanker from Palmer was called in and
dropped one load of water on the fire. Ground forces were mobilized in the form
of 16 smokejumpers from the BLM Alaska Fire Service at Fort Wainwright in
Fairbanks and three helitack personnel from the Alaska Division of Forestry in
Palmer.
Ground personnel arrived at the fire at
approximately 10:30 p.m. and worked late into the night to establish a safe
camping area and landing zone for a helicopter. Ground personnel will be
working today to establish an anchor point and indirect line on the west side
of the fire and will also be working on indirect line on the south side of the
fire. More crews will be en route to the fire today to increase the number of
personnel working on the fire. The objective is to keep the fire east and north
of the East Fork of the Moose River.
Water drops from aircraft will be used to
support firefighting efforts on the ground. Retardant is not being used because
of the fire’s proximity to an anadramous salmon stream. Retardant could be used
if the fire poses a direct threat to values at risk but that is not the case at
this time.
The public is asked to please steer clear of
crews working in the area and be aware of the potential for aircraft using
Skilak Lake to scoop water. This could limit recreational access to a portion
of Skilak Lake.
A temporary flight restriction (TFR) has been
put in place over the fire area and pilots should check with the Federal
Aviation Administration before flying in the area. More information on the TFR
is available at http://tfr.faa.gov/tfr2/list.html.
For more information, contact Alaska Division
of Forestry public information officer Celeste Prescott at 907-244-9376.
Information about the fire is also being posted on www.kpboem.com.
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