Fire crews and village residents fended off the advance of a wildfire approaching Tanacross yesterday. State Fire Information officer Pete Buist says local firefighters, who stayed behind in the evacuated village, used a fuel break constructed in recent years, to hold off wind-driven flames.
The 4,000 acre Eagle Trail fire continues to burn west of Tanacross, along and across the Tanana River and Alaska Highway, which has been closed at times. Fire Information Officer Sarah Sarloos says the blaze has been burning in more favorable direction today, but there are still concerns. Sarloos says the plan was to send in smokejumpers to protect the historic but uninhabited site this afternoon. She says crews are also trying to keep fire away from the Alcan Highway, and cautions travelers to drive slowly and keep their headlights on in the fire zone.
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
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