ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Several new wildfires were burning Monday in Alaska, including a 1,000 acre blaze close to the Alaska Peninsula village of Pilot Point.
The fire was sparked across tundra Sunday night after escaping from a smoldering garbage dump in high winds.
Eight smokejumpers scrambled to the site and an air tanker dropped 2,000 gallons of retardant between the blaze and the village a half mile to the south, said Brett Ricker, a fire information officer for the Alaska Division of Forestry.
An abandoned shed near the village was the only structure known to be destroyed.
Despite its proximity to the village of 75 people, the fire was not considered at threat because wind currents were running parallel to the community, Ricker said.
''We aren't expecting any wind shifts at this point,'' she said.
A 200-acre fire was burning around Dot Lake, a tiny village near the Alaska Highway about 40 miles northwest of Tok.
The blaze started Sunday night, creeping near some houses in the community of 33 people, but there were no injuries, although some residents went to neighboring communities, officials said. An uninhabited cabin burned, said Steve McCombs, a fire information spokesman.
Crews including smokejumpers were attacking hot spots Monday, McCombs said. Additional crews were expected as well.
The fire, believed to be human-caused, was not moving toward the Alaska Highway, which remained open to travelers.
''We're not expecting major slowdowns on tourist traffic at this time,'' McCombs said.
About 330 miles to the northwest, another escaped dump fire was being blamed for a 60-acre blaze near the Koyukuk River village of Huslia. The fire was quickly knocked down Sunday night by water-scooping planes, Ricker said.
Fire crews from Huslia were assigned to mop-up work Monday at the site less than a mile southeast of the village of 270 people.
So far this fire season, 165 fires have burned a total of nearly 10,000 acres. By this time during last year's record fire season, 91 fires had burned only 214 acres, Ricker said.
''But last year was a weird year,'' she said. ''The major fire season started significantly later than this year, so it's kind of strange to compare the two. Just because this fire season began earlier doesn't automatically mean it's going to be worse, although that is everyone's worst fear.''
