The Funny River fire that has been burning on the Kenai Peninsula since Monday has grown to nearly 50,000 acres.
Dan Nelson, the Health and Safety Officer for Central Emergency Services out of Soldotna, says the fire is about five percent contained.
“What you’re seeing today, a little shift in action from a game plan and trying to get priorities set and figuring out what’s going on to an actual going out there and attacking the fire,” Nelson said. “We have over 150 people on the ground and numerous aircraft out there. The priorities have not changed. The priorities are still keep the fire away from the Funny River community and the Kasilof community.”
Fire crews from across the state had set up a communications center at Skyview High School in Soldotna.
The fire is still not an immediate threat to life or property. Community meetings were being held Wednesday night for people closest to the fire.
No evacuation orders have been given, as the fire continues to spread into the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
Shaylon Cochran is a host and reporter at KDLL in Kenai. He’s reported on fishing, energy, agriculture and local politics since coming to Alaska in 2011. He has worked at KDLL/KBBI on the Kenai Peninsula, where he picked up lots of new hobbies, like smoking salmon, raising chickens, skiing and counting RV’s. He holds a bachelors degree in Journalism from Iowa State University.
