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Fires in Anderson Complex show little growth due to cool, humid weather

COMMUNITY MEETING: Great Basin Team 3 will hold a community meeting tonight,

Aug. 9, at 8 p.m. at the Anderson Fire Station, 911 D Street. Representatives from the team and cooperating agencies will provide an update on the fire and answer questions from community members. The meeting will be streamed live on the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection Facebook page for those who cannot attend in person.

WEATHER: Higher humidity and a chance of rain are forecast for a third straight day. This should reduce fire activity. Thunderstorms may produce erratic outflow winds, which could affect fire behavior. The National Weather Service has again issued a Dense Smoke Advisory. For more information about wildfire smoke visit https://akfireinfo.com/smoke-management/.

FIRE UPDATE: There was minimal fire activity reported across the Anderson Complex yesterday thanks to weather conditions. A Type 2 crew from Franco Reforestation improved structure protection measures in the areas threatened by the Shores Landing Fire (#325). They also worked to protect allotments from potential fire impacts. The crew is engaged in mop up as well along the northern edge of the Teklanika River Fire (#257). Mop up is the process of extinguishing or removing burning material near control lines, felling fire damaged trees, and cooling ash pits to make a fire line more likely to hold and to reduce residual smoke. The crew will continue this work today.

With the completion of the fuel breaks around the City of Anderson, wildland firefighters from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and Kenai have been assigned to respond to any new fires that start within the Anderson Complex. For now, they remain in Anderson to carry out defensive actions if fire moves toward the community.

Engine crews from Nenana and the Alaska National Guard continue to work with the Nulato Hills Wildland hand crew and a dozer in and around Nenana. Firefighters won’t disturb the ground around the cemetery south of Nenana as part of their effort to protect it. Working with resource advisors assigned to the complex, they have developed a plan to reduce fuels around the cemetery by removing brush to create defensible space.

The Shasta Lake Hotshots continued to find and extinguish areas of residual heat from the Birch Creek Fire (#285) in the Rose Hip Creek and Clear Sky areas. The crew have also been checking the pumps, hoses and sprinklers they put in place to protect structures to ensure they are still working. They will continue with mop up and structure protection today.

Firefighters from Kobe, Anderson, Northstar, the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire and the K River 1 and Franco Reforestation hand crews continue to protect structures in the North Forties and Kobe Ag subdivisions. Today they will begin putting hoses, sprinklers and pumps along a dozer line east of the North Forties subdivision.

Firefighters were able to fly around the Rock Creek Fire (#287) yesterday. They have identified structures and allotments that may be threatened by the fire, depending on its direction of spread. Additional firefighting resources are needed before crews are put on the ground to defend the values at risk.

As the firefighting activity winds down, crews will also begin the work of suppression repair. This involves pulling back vegetation over lines that are no longer needed, giving native plants a chance to re-establish themselves. The goal is to minimize damage to soil, water, and other resources directly attributed to fire suppression.

EVACUATION STATUS: 

The Denali Borough moved the City of Anderson from SET to READY yesterday due to the decreased threat to residents. Individuals should stay ready for possible evacuation.

Areas in GO status include:

• The Teklanika River and all residents along the Teklanika River
• All residents in Clear Sky homestead (not the Clear Sky Lodge) and residents adjacent to Rose Hip Creek

Individuals in this area should evacuate now. Do not delay. The Tri-Valley School is available for evacuation parking and will be available as an evacuation center, if needed. 

Areas in SET status include:

• All residents who use any road west of the George Parks Highway between milepost 270 and the Rex Bridge

Individuals in this area should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. 

Areas in READY status include:

• The cities of Anderson and Nenana
• Residents who access their property off the George Parks Highway corridor between milepost 288 and milepost 306
• Residents who access their property from the west side of the George Parks Highway between milepost 266 and milepost 270, including June Creek and Bear Creek
• Residents who access their property off the Parks Highway corridor from the Rex Bridge to milepost 280

Individuals in this area should be ready for possible evacuation. 

Visit the Denali Borough website for additional information.