9/9/19 - 9:30 AM - Swan Lake Fire Update

Seasonal Weather Conditions

9/8/19 In-brief for Northern Rockies Team # 4

Summary of Sunday's Operations

There was minimal fire activity yesterday, with light winds and temperatures in the 60’s. Crews continued to monitor the fireline looking for hot spots.

Today's Operations

Fireline operations will continue to be similar to the past few days.  Firefighters continue to patrol and mop-up fire control lines near the west flank of the fire near Sterling, and on the east flank of the fire by Fuller Lake, Resurrection Trail, Sterling Highway and Skilak Lake. Crews will continue to cut down hazard trees, repair dozer lines, pull hose from the Skilak Road area and continue to reinforce the firelines on the east flank. Firefighters in Cooper Landing will continue to work on structure protection measures.

A Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Team has been deployed to assess the potential post-wildfire hazards that could arise in the Swan Lake Fire area. After a fire, the first priority is emergency stabilization in order to prevent further damage to life, property or natural resources on public lands. Rehabilitation focuses on the lands unlikely to recover naturally from wildland fire damage.

Caribou Lake Fire:  25 miles northeast of Homer, is 100% contained at 870 acres as of yesterday. The fire will remain in monitor status and will be turned back over to the AK Division of Forestry. 

Fire Team Transition: Transition to the Northern Rockies Team 4 will begin with the team working alongside of the Great Basin Team today and taking command of the Swan Lake Fire Tuesday at 7 a.m.

Restrictions: The area closures for public lands surrounding and including the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest remain in place to provide needed public and firefighter safety. Information on these closures is available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6387/. The Upper Kenai River remains open between Cooper and Sportsman’s Landing from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR): The current TFR in place for air space over the Swan Lake Fire (9/2925 NOTAM) will lessen impacts to local aviation operators. The TFR includes unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), or drones, as well.

A printable version of the complete update may be found by clicking here.