ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Residents of two Yukon River communities have been told to gather their belongings and be ready to leave if a wildfire burning five miles away moves closer to their homes.
A pre-evacuation advisory has been issued for Eagle, population 126, and Eagle Village, population 59, two towns near Alaska's border with Canada.
The local airport has been designated a safety zone and the Red Cross has set up a shelter in Tok, about 165 miles away, according to Gil Knight, a fire information officer with the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center at Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks.
``We're trying to give it a two-hour notice _-plenty of time to move on,'' Knight said.
On Tuesday, as warm and dry conditions increased fire activity in other parts of the state, cooler temperatures and low, thick smoke near Eagle halted the Deer Creek fire's advance on the town, Knight said.
The fire is part of the Eagle complex of fires, which has burned about 473,000 acres in northeastern Alaska.
For days, Eagle residents have been hauling water and clearing trees and vegetation around their homes.
Some said they wouldn't leave their property even if an evacuation order came.
``We're not going to be stupid about it,'' said Marlys House, who owns Falcon Inn Bed and Breakfast. ``I think people here have been prepared for this situation if it comes to that.''
Mike Sager, owner of Eagle Canoe Rentals, said the air was thick with smoke, but he didn't see the need to leave.
``I'm not going anywhere,'' Sager said. ``I think they're working on evacuation plans, (but) I'm sure a lot of people won't leave.''
Fires continued to blaze Tuesday along the Taylor Highway, Eagle's only roadway out of town. Fire information officers said delays of up to eight hours could be expected.
Fires have burned about 2.6 million acres in the state this year, Alaska's fourth largest fire season since 1950.
More than 5 million acres burned in the state in 1957.
With forecasts for continued dry weather and high temperatures, firefighters expect the Interior blazes to keep burning, even though the traditional end of the fire season is approaching
``Historically, this area should have a season-ending weather event by July 30. Here we are on the 13th,'' Knight said. ``It's not a normal year.''
While firefighters are confident about being able to protect homes in the vicinity of the wildfires, the unpredictable winds have increased concern for the 1,585 firefighters battling Interior blazes.
``Firefighter safety is our primary concern,'' said fire information officer Frances Reynolds.
There were 68 wildfires burning in Alaska Tuesday.
Reynolds said the center expected more ``red flag'' warnings to be issued for the remainder of the week. The National Weather Service issues the warnings when conditions are expected to be hot and dry with winds gusting up to 30 mph.
``It is going to be a long week,'' Reynolds said. ``We are expecting red flag warnings probably throughout the week.''
The troublesome Evansville fire near the Kuskokwim River village of Bettles - while one of the smaller wildfires in the state - grew to 17,561 acres. Winds blowing from the southwest caused the blazes to spread rapidly, but kept it from advancing on Bettles to the west.
The Taylor Highway fire measured 650,000 acres on Tuesday - an increase of 60,000 acres - after winds whipped it up Monday afternoon.
The winds also caused the Wolf Creek fire at the end of the Chena Hot Springs Road northeast of Fairbanks to push over some ridges Monday afternoon. Reynolds said planes dropped fire retardant on the fire that at one point crept onto the property of the Chena Hot Springs Resort.
