An airborne tanker dropped five loads of retardant, including loads parallel to and about a half mile away from the Anchor River, said Kris Eriksen, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Forestry.
The fire was estimated at 4,800 acres. A recreation cabin was burned Sunday afternoon, but no one was hurt, Eriksen said.
Tuesday morning, forecaster predicted a 70-percent chance of wetting rain but rain clouds had not materialized, Eriksen said.
''I don't know if we're going to get any help from the weather,'' she said.
A suspension of burn permits remains in effect for the Kenai Peninsula, with the warning from state officials that a person who lights a fire that results in fire suppression efforts could be liable for those costs and criminal penalties.
The blaze was sending up plumes of smoke Monday that were visible from the community of Nikolaevsk several miles west of the Anchor River, but there was no immediate threat to residents, according to Eriksen.
''It's very deceptive when you're looking at a column,'' she said. ''It looks closer than it is.''
Eriksen said the fire was far less active along its southern edge. That's where the fire originated last week, sparked by a downed power line a couple miles from a residential subdivision northeast of Homer.
A grass fire was reported Monday about two miles west of Homer. Crews quickly attacked it, Eriksen said.
In Interior Alaska, calmer winds and clouding skies were a welcome boost for crews stationed at several smaller fires, including two fires near Delta Junction 100 miles south of Fairbanks and another near Nenana. Dry tall grasses provided much of the fuel in those fires, said Marsha Henderson, a state forestry division spokeswoman.
''It's such a flashy fuel,'' she said. ''Just a little bit of wind makes a big difference.''
The state has chartered two air tankers from Canada. One arrived over the weekend and was immediately pressed into service.
The plane was heading to Homer on Sunday when it was diverted to the fires at Nenana and Delta Junction.
