The latest update put the Swan Lake fire’s size at 23,530 acres.
Two villages along the Lower Yukon River have begun evacuating their most vulnerable residents from a tundra fire.The fire late Thursday was burning less than eight miles from St Mary’s and nearby Pitkas Point, and wind continues spreading the flames closer to the villages with a combined population of over 700 people. Yute Commuter Service is sending all its planes to St. Mary’s to evacuate residents, and Grant Aviation is prepared to assist.
The McDonald Fire has grown to over 39,000 acres west of the Tanana River, with statewide fires consuming 72,000 acres; critical fire danger and smoke advisories are in effect.
Smoke from wildfires in Siberia drifted to Alaska last year as well, according to the National Weather Service, but Alaska already had hazy skies from local wildfires.
The highway remained closed north of Willow after the fire jumped the road Sunday, authorities said. The fire started Saturday afternoon when wind blew a tree onto a power line.
Lytton, British Columbia, broke successive Canadian heat records early this week, with temperatures peaking at 121 degrees on Tuesday. Then the fires swept in.
Much of Siberia this year has had unseasonably high temperatures, leading to sizable wildfires.
It’s not often that Southcentral Alaska residents wake to thunder in the middle of the night. But what forecasters are calling an unusual storm moved from the Talkeetna Mountains into the Matanuska Valley and then Anchorage and south to the Kenai Peninsula from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. At least one lightning-caused structure fire was reported.
“It’s been hot, it’s been dry, and it’s been windy. And those winds gusts of 20 miles per hour, it’s kind of funneled through the Andreafsky River drainage,” said Beth Ipsen. Federal entities sent in more firefighters this week, and some residents are thinking about preparing their go-bags.
A haze visible through Southcentral Alaska on Wednesday was caused by smoke from fires burning in Siberia that began flowing into Alaska in early July.
“Smoke concentrations will be such that they could impact public health at times, according to an advisory issued by the state Division of Air Quality.
A smoke respite room has been set up at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. The Chandler Room on the first floor will be open 24 hours a day until further notice.
It’s not dangerous at this point to drive on the Sterling Highway, though smoke may reduce visibility.
Anchorage saw temperatures spike above 60 degrees every day in June for the first time in recorded history. The city also experienced near record low precipitation: Only 1/10 of an inch of rain fell the entire month.
The city is so parched and hot that even a cigarette tossed into a pile of fluffy cottonwood fiber could ignite a fire.
As of Monday evening, no structures had been damaged in the Munson Creek Fire, which was less than a half mile from the popular resort.
An evacuation alert was also issued Friday for residents of the Lower Salcha River, from river mile 3 to 40. The Middle Salcha remains under a SET status, from river
The wildfires can burrow into rich organic material, such as the vast peatlands that ring the Arctic, and smolder under the snowpack throughout the frigid winter.
More than a month’s worth of rain has soaked parts of the state in just a few days, setting records.
The haze is expected to subside by the middle of next week, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service said.
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