Wildfire season is holding on in Alaska as warm dry weather persists later than normal. The Alaska Fire Service reports that water scooping planes and smoke jumpers corralled a new blaze north of Ft. Yukon over the weekend.
The Shovun Lake fire was detected Saturday afternoon, burning within a mile and a half of Native land allotments. The AFS said four water scoopers made drops on the fire, which was mopped up Sunday by smoke-jumpers at under four acres.
Another new blaze southeast of Ft. Yukon was discovered Sunday morning. The Sucker River Fire is burning in a remote area of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge, and being monitored.
Correction: This story’s headline has been updated to prevent confusion. Alaska Fire Service is affiliated with the Federal Bureau of Land Management, not the state.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
