About 140 active wildfires, many in the Eastern Interior, are burning up acreage and sending smoke across the region — with one burning across and closing the Elliott Highway north of Fairbanks.
Among about 10 wildfires being fought statewide, the highest priority is the Globe Fire along the highway north of Fairbanks. The blaze, which has grown to more than 5,000 acres, prompted an evacuation order between Mileposts 39 to 48, and a highway closure between Mileposts 28 and 48.
Alaska Fire Service spokesperson Beth Ipsen said the Globe Fire exhibited extreme behavior Thursday. It grew rapidly in erratic winds and hot, dry weather, burning through black spruce.
“The fire activity picked up and there was a large column of smoke that collapsed and really impacted the area with hampered visibility, hot air and ash,” Ipsen said.
Ipsen said the fire burned across the Elliott near the Globe Creek Campground. She said the focus is on protecting people and then property.
“There’s cabins, Native allotments, and primary homes in that area,” she said. “I’ve talked to quite a few people that are in Fairbanks, and are really worried about their property, and of course there are some people that decided to stay.”
Ipsen said smokejumpers spent the day checking on residents and structures, clearing surrounding brush and setting up sprinkler systems. Additional firefighters are being mobilized, including two hotshot crews from California that arrived Thursday night.
“And then we are trying to order more crews up there, so it’s going to be increasing, and then also we’re trying to get some heavy equipment,” she said.
Ipsen said the Elliott Highway closure is before the Dalton Highway intersection, so truckers headed to and from the North Slope were among vehicles backed up Thursday. The fire service is coordinating with the state Department of Transportation and Alaska State Troopers on the road closure, which will be lifted when it’s safe.
The wildfire situation is intensifying as lightning strikes combined with hot, dry weather continue to create red flag conditions across a wide swath of the state’s mid-section. Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection information officer Sam Harrel said existing fires and new starts have high growth potential.
“Winds like we had on Thursday are just really going to drive them and force them to grow,” Harrel said. “The fuels are very receptive.”
Harrel highlighted a blaze that started Thursday night north of Nenana on the Totchaket Slough.
“It has the potential to grow and it’s in a full response area. There’s a lot of cabins and Native allotments along the Tanana River there,” he said.
Meanwhile, the hot, dry windy conditions have resulted in significant growth of the state’s two largest wildfires: the McDonald and Clear Fires which have burned together, charring over 100,000 acres on military training lands across the Tanana River from Fairbanks and Richardson Highway communities to the southeast.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
