Cooler weather and downpours in the Interior this week brought residents some relief from the dozens of wildfires that are burning in the area. But firefighters say it’s not over yet. And they’re shifting their focus to a new fire complex west of Fairbanks, which is bearing down on some homes, natural resources, and important infrastructure.
The Fairbanks North Star Borough downgraded several evacuation orders this week, but people who live along a large stretch of the highway corridor between Nenana and Fairbanks were told to pack up and go on Thursday.
Two fires on either side of the highway — the Goldstream Creek Fire and the Bonanza Creek Fire — make up what firefighting officials are calling the Nenana Ridge complex, totaling about 30,000 acres.
Sonja Hartmann is a spokesperson for federal fire crews on the Nenana Ridge Fire Complex. She says the area contains some scattered private properties, as well as many areas of public interest.
“There may be a cabin here or there, but it's Native allotments. It's Department of Forestry timber sales that are high-dollar,” Hartmann said.
Nearly 400 firefighters are on the scene, working to protect homes, roads, railroad tracks, power lines and fiber optic cables.
Hartmann says that so far, the fires have caused little damage to structures, but they have caused a few blackouts in surrounding communities.
She says crews on the scene are also working hard to mop up fires around the Parks Highway before the weather heats up again. The highway has seen major delays due to fire activity since last month.
“We understand the economic impacts, the impacts to people’s lives that are trying to travel from these communities to Fairbanks for medical treatments,” Hartmann said.
Three firefighters working on a different fire — the Ninetyeight Fire southeast of Fairbanks — were injured in a boating accident on the Salcha River Friday morning, the Alaska Fire Service said in a news release. All three were taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for treatment.
According to the National Weather Service office in Fairbanks, a hot, dry weather system moving into the Interior this weekend could make existing wildfires worse, with temperatures projected to creep into the 80s by Sunday.
The only thing missing is wind, which is the third ingredient in the recipe for disastrous fire conditions. That lack of wind could bode well for firefighting efforts, but it could also mean that unhealthy smoke will pour back into some communities – and not blow away anytime soon.