Wildfires Continue To Burn In Alaska's Interior
Dozens of fires continued to blaze Thursday across Alaska. Fire crews were temporarily buoyed by incoming clouds that raised the humidity, but by Wednesday afternoon, the weather had again turned against them.
``We're right back into the hot, dry, windy weather,'' said fire information officer Gary Lehnhausen.
Thursday's forecast called for partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 80s and afternoon thunderstorms. Winds, however, were expected to be light.
Six separate fires burned Thursday in the Solstice complex in northeast of Alaska. Two were declared out Wednesday. The total acreage for the Solstice complex fire was 111,000 acres. The two biggest blazes - the Pingo and Winter Trail fires - grew by a combined 7,500 acres, slowing from the 29,500 acres the day before, Lehnhausen said.
Crews again on Thursday were going to concentrate on building fire lines ahead of the Pingo and Winter Trail fires, Lehnhausen said.
On Wednesday, firefighters burned out black and white spruce trees a mile wide, leaving the fires with nothing to feed on when they reach those points, he said.
Good progress was made on the Winter Trail fire, with the work on the fire line nearly complete. But he said a lot of work remained on the Pingo fire.
Lehnhausen estimated that it would take two or three days to assemble the eight crews and gather the resources needed to build the fire lines.
The community of Venetie lies just 10 miles south of the Pingo fire.
``There's nothing to indicate that Venetie is going to be threatened before that project is completed,'' Lehnhausen said.
The Pingo fire is burning on private land owned by the Venetie tribe, which has been concerned about protecting timber, fish and wildlife.
Smoke from the wildfires in the upper Yukon Valley, as far south as Fairbanks, has created unhealthy air quality for sensitive individuals, said the state Department of Environmental Conservation's division of air and water quality.
One firefighter was injured Tuesday night at one of the Solstice complex fires when he was filling a chain saw with gasoline and it ignited, burning his hands and leg. The firefighter was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released.
The identity of the firefighter was not immediately known Wednesday, Lehnhausen said.
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