While conditions were cool and lightly rainy on Monday, fire fighters still have a lot of work ahead of them as they monitor, manage, and contain several wildfires across the state.
As of Monday, the largest fire was the Bitter Creek blaze, about 30 miles southeast of Tok and 15 miles northwest of Northway, and it has already burned 2,300 acres. The Alaska Division of Forestry has assigned five crews of 20 with the task of battling the lightning-caused blaze and the focus was keeping the fire from spreading to the Alaska Highway.
Fire crews have been dispatched to four out of 41 wildfires across the state as cooler temperatures and rain help battle the blazes.
Norm McDonald with the Alaska Division of Forestry in the Mat-Su Borough says the season started out slowly due to a long-lasting winter that seemingly didn't end until the middle of May and the season kicked off in the span of a week and a half with a trend of warm weather and dry conditions.
"This year we had the late start, late snow and late freezing conditions, so that really slowed things up," McDonald said. "Each year is going to be something new."
One Mat-Su fire crew of 20 relocated to Tok from Point McKenzie after an unattended campfire developed into a wildfire that burned 45 acres, a cabin and a shed once it was relatively contained.
Black spruce has been one of the challenges facing crews, according to Maggie Rogers with the Alaska Division of Forestry.
"On warm dry days when it's burning, it's very hard to what we call 'catch,'" Rogers said.
Rogers says the Alaska Division of Forestry has enough resources to handle wildfires for now and hasn't asked for much help from the Lower 48 yet.
"We have been moving crews around to fires that have need for them and then also making sure personnel are also available to respond to new fires," Rogers said.
Rogers says while most fires are caused by people, lightning-caused fires tend to grow into bigger fires and burn more acres than one caused by humans in the summer.
Contact: Samantha Angaiak