ANCHORAGE (AP) -- Wildfires started by lightning had burned more than 80,000 acres in Alaska's Interior on Monday.
The Solstice complex, burning in black spruce and tundra, was composed of 15 fires. The largest was the 33,000-acre Pingo fire 10 miles north of the village of Venetie, said fire information officer Gary Lehnhausen.
Also part of the 55,000-acre complex is the 18,000-acre Winter Trail fire, he said.
Fire and weather conditions so far have prevented crews from clearing fire line around the Pingo blaze.
The Pingo fire is burning on private land owned by the Venetie tribe, which has been concerned about protecting timber, fish and wildlife.
But it's been ``so hot and so dry and the fuel conditions are so dense, that we haven't been able to put firefighters on the ground,'' Lehnhausen said. ``About a week ago, we had Hotshots and smokejumpers get run off because it was just too hot.''
On Monday afternoon, it was about 90 degrees there and thunder cells were building over the fire, creating downdrafts that made it too dangerous to send crews to the scene, Lehnhausen said.
``I am specifically worried about the thunderstorm buildup. If there are more lightning strikes from these ... the chances of ignition are quite good,'' Lehnhausen said.
Lightning from the thunderstorms started at least one new fire near Stevens Village on Monday and smokejumpers were dispatched to the site, he said.
Fire managers hoped to begin building fire line on the Pingo blaze on Tuesday, if weather is favorable. About 200 people have been assigned to the complex of fires.
The American Summit fire, about 15 miles south of Eagle, had blackened about 10,000 acres, said Maggie Rogers, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Fire Service.
The 9,000-acre Chicken fire, in black spruce and tundra, was burning 50 miles northeast of Tok, forcing the intermittent closure of the Taylor Highway between mileposts 45 and 66.
The Boundary fire, 57 miles northeast of Fairbanks, had burned 6,200 acres of spruce and tundra. Crews are working on site protection where appropriate, but there was no immediate threat to life or homes, Rogers said.
Elsewhere in Alaska, the U.S. Forest Service has issued a fire danger alert for the Tongass National Forest in the southeast part of the state because of unusually warm, dry conditions.
The agency urged people to be extra careful with campfires and machinery in the woods.
People responsible for starting wildfires can face fines of up to $5,000, along with the cost of suppressing the fire and the value of resources destroyed.
