Wildfire Season in the Copper Basin
Snodgrass Fire.
Photo courtesy of Division of Forestry
Allison Sayer - CRR Staff
The weather appeared to be turning in much of the local area as of today (July 11), after a prolonged dry period that produced high fire risk.
With day after day of hot, dry weather across the state, fire danger increased. Not only was there abundant dry fuel above ground, but ever deeper layers of the ground vegetation and duff became dryer. This created conditions not only for easier fire ignition, but for fires that once ignited would burn hotter and be more difficult to control. This process is explained further by the Alaska Fire Information Public Information Officers at https://akfireinfo.com/2022/07/09/critically-dry-fuels-contin-ue-to-drive-fire-behavior/
Local land management entities including Ahtna, Inc, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, the Alaska State Fire Marshal, the City of Valdez, and the Bureau of Land Management, have imposed restrictions or bans on fireworks and open fires outside of established fire rings.
Despite the long dry spell, the wildfire acreage in the Copper Basin was small as of Monday July 11. Only 191.9 acres burned to date according to the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center (AICC) situation report, a tiny fraction of the 2,661,981.8 acres reported burned statewide.
The Situation Report, updated daily and available at fire.ak.blm.gov, lists all active fires in the state. The size, start date, cause, fire-fighting activity, and other information are listed for each fire.
The AICC Wildland Fire Dashboard, also available at fire.ak.blm.gov, is an interactive map showing updated information about each recent or active fire in Alaska. The dashboard listed eleven fires to date in the Copper Basin area.
According to Joint Information Center (JIC) public information officer Cathie Harms Tordoff, fires are discovered in a variety of ways. Members of the general public call 911, pilots see smoke, or information is received from satellites that detect heat points which are investigated by on the ground personnel.
To date this summer in the Copper Basin, personnel have responded to seven small wildfires in “full” or “critical” suppression areas, where firefighting is a high priority due to the proximity of people and infrastructure.
According Harms Tordoff, additional factors that influence firefighting decision making include the fire’s potential danger, how hot it is burning, the availability of equipment and personnel, and whether the weather poses a threat to firefighter safety. She added that firefighting infrastructure is experiencing some of the same supply chain issues as the rest of the country.
Harms Tordoff encouraged anyone with questions about firefighting decisions to contact the Joint Information Center at (907)356-5511.
Sadly, one of the “critical” area wildfires started as a structure fire that escaped to the surrounding area in Gulkana Village on June 15. This fire was extinguished after burning one third of an acre, but the home was a total loss.
On June 2, a resident’s burning trash ignited a wildfire at Mile 103 on the Richardson Highway. The fire was extinguished after burning about one tenth of an acre.
There were two fires on the Old Dump Road in Glennallen, one confirmed as human caused and one of which the cause was not confirmed. One burned half an acre, and the other two tenths of an acre. They occurred on June 14 and June 20.
Old Dump Road Fire.
Photo courtesy of Division of Forestry
Old Dump Road Fire.
Photo courtesy of Division of Forestry
Two small lightning-caused fires occurred near human infrastructure in late June. Both were out after burning one tenth of an acre or less. These occurred on Willow Mountain on June 24 and on Moose Creek near Crown Drive on June 30.
On June 27, a half-acre fire started near Mile 92 on the Richardson Highway. This fire was started by lightning.
A lightning strike can take time, potentially days, to develop into a fire. The initial strike can smolder in wet vegetation, but has the potential to flare up if the days following the storm dry the surrounding area out. These are called “holdover fires.” More information about holdover fires can be found at https://akfireinfo.com/2021/07/01/ holdover-fires-in-alaska/
There were four additional wildfires in the Copper Basin that were in “limited” or “modified” suppression areas, meaning they did not automatically receive priority for firefighting.
The Snodgrass fire, a 91 acre fire on the Susitna River, was determined by fire personnel to be human started. Firefighters and equipment were mobilized to contain this fire including twelve smokejumpers and one engine. It was considered “fully contained” on July 9, and equipment and personnel left the area.
Snodgrass Fire.
Photo courtesy of Division of Forestry
A fire at Ewan Lake was reported on June 29. According to the AICC Wildland Fire Dashboard, a helicopter and engine were dispatched to the fire but were not able to locate it. The cause was not determined, and the total area affected was listed as less than one acre.
A 66 acre fire at Fish Lake was reported on June 5. This fire was caused by lightning. It was monitored, and allowed to burn. As of July 2 personnel were not able to detect heat, smoke, or a change in burned acreage in the area.
Fish Lake Fire.
Photo courtesy of Division of Forestry
The Capital Fire, a four acre fire in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park is being monitored and allowed to burn. The fire was first observed on July 4 and was caused by lightning.
Harms Tordoff emphasized it is important to allow some fires to burn, saying,
“Interior Alaska is boreal forest, which is a fire dependent ecosystem. Eliminating fire from the ecosystem would not only be pretty much impossible, it would be bad for the wildlife and plants.”
Capital Fire.
Photo courtesy of Division of Forestry
Abundant, up to date information is available at fire.ak.blm/gov. Anyone who either does not have internet access or would like staff to help interpret the online maps and reports can call the Joint Information Center at (907)356-5511.
Additional information is available on the BLM Alaska Fire Service and the Alaska DNR Division of Forestry and Fire Protection Facebook pages.