ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Firefighters worked Wednesday to contain a remote wildfire southwest of Talkeetna after aircraft slowed its growth Tuesday and helped crews reach the fireline, according to the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection.

The Yenlo Fire was reported Tuesday by a passing pilot about 41 miles southwest of Talkeetna and 14 miles north of Skwentna, forestry officials said. The fire was estimated at 52 acres after initially being observed at about 20 acres.

A helitack crew from Palmer Area Forestry located the fire and began dropping water on it from a helicopter. Officials said the fire was burning in grass, brush, scattered spruce and standing dead spruce, with some trees torching individually.

A nearby cabin and heavy equipment were in the fire’s path, and helitack firefighters worked to protect them as the fire moved through the area, officials said.

The aerial response included two single-engine water-scooping aircraft, a retardant tanker and an air attack aircraft to coordinate operations. Alaska smokejumpers and the Pioneer Peak Hotshot Crew were also sent to the fire. Another helicopter was dispatched from Fairbanks to help move crews and equipment from Talkeetna to the incident.

Firefighters worked until midnight Tuesday cutting sawline, installing pumps and building hose lays. By Wednesday, crews had built sawline around about 25% of the fire’s perimeter, officials said.

Thirty-four firefighters camped overnight at a safe distance from the fire before returning to the fireline Wednesday. Crews were expected to continue cutting sawline and building hose lays throughout the day, with helicopter support for water drops and equipment shuttles from Talkeetna.

Forestry officials said an unstable weather pattern was expected to move into the western Susitna Valley, bringing afternoon showers and isolated wet thunderstorms. Temperatures were forecast to reach the upper 60s, with overnight lows in the lower 40s. The pattern was expected to continue through the end of the week.

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Alaska ranked 47th in the nation in a recent analysis of children’s overall well-being, after dropping seven places since the last report.

The nationally recognized survey is part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count data book. It looks at four key aspects of children’s well-being, including education, health, economic well-being and family and community.

While the overall ranking for Alaska’s children was not good, the state’s rankings for education and economic well-being were particularly low, at 49th and 48th respectively.

Trevor Storrs, president and CEO of the nonprofit advocacy group Alaska Children’s Trust, says the Kids Count ranking is a dire warning.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Trevor Storrs: This is a further sign that our state is facing some real challenges when it comes to our children and families. To be ranked 47th in the nation should be a red flag, and we should be asking the questions, “Why are we 47th, and what does it mean to be 47th?”

We need to step back and really have the honest conversations around what do we need to ensure that our children and families are not just safe but thriving.

Casey Grove: What contributed to Alaska dropping seven places in that ranking?

TS: Well, I think the biggest thing is other states are investing differently and more. So one of the things to recognize is our 2025 budget. We just passed a ’26 (budget). If the governor approves it, that’s yet to be decided.

So, one, we’re investing less. When you invest less, you get less return on your investment. And then when you speak of return on investment, it’s about where you put your money, so if you put your money in something that has high return, you’re going to see better impact and progress, right?

Well, the example is, this year, if I’m correct, the only budget that really saw a major increase was (the Department of) Corrections. They walked in and said, “Hey, we need 25 million more dollars,” as our schools are closing. We had conversations, although it didn’t happen, people were going, “Well, we don’t have enough money if we pay them, so maybe we need to cut early childhood (education). Early childhood provides a $7 to $13 return on investment, depending on the specific activity.

Corrections, there’s no return on investment, or very little. It usually costs us more, and there’s no return. So, where should we put our dollars? But yet we continually put our dollars after the fact, versus upstream primary prevention.

CG: Specifically, drilling down on education, we were 47th overall in these rankings but 49th in education, right? Can you tell me more about that?

TS: Well, and I think this is a topic that everybody knows, we are not 49th because we don’t have good schools (or) we don’t have good teachers. It’s the system and the way we invest, and, or more importantly, what we haven’t (invested in).

And kudos to the Legislature last year, they stood up and made sure that schools got more dollars, so that negative impact was less. But it was not enough, and those are the conversations that we need to have. The idea of the Kids Count (data book) is not to shame anybody orpoint fingers, but we as a state need to own them, and really have a conversation going, “Is this what we want to be?”

And I will promote and remind people, in 2026, it’s a huge election, not only the federal, Senate and Houses (seats)up, we’re guaranteed a new governor and 50 of the six state legislators. We need to make sure that they’re not just voting for the development of oil and all of our other resources, but more importantly, are investing in our most important and future asset, and that’s our children. They might only make up 25% of our population, but they make up 100% of our future.

CG: Have there been more recent improvements on some of these things that you’ve seen here in Alaska that that give you hope?

TS: Oh, absolutely. So one, I think there’s improvements in the system. I will say our state has really done well with the Rural Health Transformation (Program) funds that, under the commissioner of the Department of Health, really, it’s been challenging, and they’re still facing challenges, but through our SNAP program and Medicaid and dealing with the backlogs, they still have them, they still have challenges, but they’re working so diligently in doing that.

Our maternal health program, they do an exceptional job, and at times we might lose some of our ranking in that, our percentage, they show (might show a) decrease, but when you compare us to the other states, we’re doing good. So there are some bright spots, and they’re bright spots because of how we invest in it and how we’re being strategic with it. I want to take that and enlarge it on the state level, like, let’s work off of those and be, not just successful with that, but with all the other areas as well.

When the “three lucky Swedes” discovered gold at Anvil Creek in the Bering Strait region in September of 1898, they touched off a frenzy that transformed a once-peaceful corner of Alaska.

“Imagine a long stretch of sandy beach, piled high & in confusion with freight of all descriptions & tents men unloading barges & working for dear life all the time, then a main street with stores, saloons, dance halls & gambling dens, etc. on each side crowded with people & teams pushing, joshing & shoving, then you have a pretty good description of Nome,” one of those fortune-seekers, named Edwin, said in a June 11, 1900, letter sent to a sweetheart named Clara, as reproduced in the book “Nome Gold” by Kenneth Kutz.

More than a century later, a patchwork of lingering mining claims and private landholdings has been cleared away and land stretching 14 miles along the salmon-rich Nome River is now in the hands of a local Native corporation, which has pledged to protect it.

A deal transferred 1,700 acres along the river from The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit devoted to preserving habitat, to the Sitnasuak Native Corp., the Nome-based village Native corporation.

The Conservation Fund had purchased private parcels along the river over time, and its transfer to Sitnasuak includes an agreement to preserve the land as a conservation easement, as arranged with the Interior Alaska Land Trust, another nonprofit organization that preserves lands.

For Sitnasuak, the land acquisition is an investment in the future, the corporation’s chief executive officer said.

“We are very proud to take ownership of this precious piece of land. Adding this area to our SNC Land assets ensures it will be protected in perpetuity for future generations of our Alaska Native People,” Charles Fagerstrom, Sitnasuak’s CEO, said in a statement released by The Conservation Fund. “Safeguarding these waters, land and its resources holds tremendous value to our community, Shareholders and Descendants whose ancestors have thrived in this region for thousands of years.”

Putting the land into the Native corporation’s portfolio addresses problems that persisted for decades. Subsistence food gatherers faced barriers when trying to travel to and along the river because they had to cross through parcels of private land, and mining activities had caused long-term habitat degradation for the river, which holds salmon, grayling and habitat for various wildlife species.

A community celebration of the transfer is planned for later in the summer, the corporation said.

The Conservation Fund also characterized the transaction as a happy outcome.

“Sitnasuak and its shareholders are the best possible stewards of the river and surrounding lands. We are honored to partner with Sitnasuak and Interior Alaska Land Trust to preserve wild nature and access to subsistence resources,” said John Wros, Alaska state director at The Conservation Fund.

The Nome River project is among several that The Conservation Fund has completed throughout Alaska since the 1990s. Its projects have preserved over 400,000 acres of land and water. A recent project by the organization added 24 acres of privately held land known as Herring Pete’s Cove to Kachemak State Park.

The Nome River flows about 40 miles from the Kigluaik Mountains into Norton Sound. Its outflow into the sound is on the eastern edge of Nome.

The lower part of the river was most heavily mined in the years between 1900 and 1930, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Ditches dug to support mining operations are still visible, according to the department. The river’s habitat has healed over time, and it is now important to fish, birds and mammals, according to the department.

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.