FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The McDonald Fire received wind from the west-southwest Wednesday, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Fire behavior was moderated due to the higher humidity yesterday and smoke was present on the highway over the course of the day. A reconnaissance flight found heat along the northern edge with most of the heat in the northeast corner, which aligned with the wind direction. There was minimal perimeter growth with the gain in total acreage attributed to the fire consuming unburned pockets in the interior.  

Crews have secured roughly 50 feet of depth along most of the line in the 5 Mile Creek Area and will continue with mop-up operations and securing the fires edge. Several crews reported trees falling over in the areas where they were working. The potential for fire-weakened trees to fall is high and firefighters must be alert to these dangers while working on the line. Rain is in the forecast today for the area, so operations will be weather and safety dependent. Crews will monitor fire behavior for any potential spotting or flanking beyond the perimeter. A module is staffing several lookouts and engines are patrolling the ridge and lookout areas as well as the Richardson Highway to provide information to crews on the ground.   

Weather: Rain is expected today with winds from the southwest at 5 to 7 mph. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 50s to 60s. This should reduce fire activity. 

Burn Permits: The Division of Forestry and Fire Protection has issued Burn Permit Suspensions for Fairbanks, Salcha, Delta, Tok, and Railbelt areas. The fire danger in these areas remains HIGH. Please check https://dnr.alaska.gov/burn/fireareas or call the burn permit hotline for the Fairbanks Area Forestry at (907) 451-2631 for the most current updates. 

Air Quality: Cooler temperatures and rain forecast today and into the weekend should help moderate smoke production. This should continue the overall trend of improving air quality. However, due to the amount of fire on the landscape and wind, there may be periods of increasing smoke until significant wetting rain arrives. Winds will continue to be from the southwest today, pushing smoke northeast. Lingering smoke may enhance any fog that forms and impact visibility. Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (1650 Cowles St.) has clean-air rooms available for people impacted by smoke open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find information on how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke at the Smoke Management page on https://akfireinfo.com/smoke-management/. 

Evacuation Notices: A Level 2: SET evacuation notice is in effect for the approximately 20 cabins near the fire’s southeastern edge west of the Tanana River. The communities east of the Tanana River are in READY status, including the Johnson Road neighborhoods, Canaday, Harding Lake, Salcha, the lower Salcha River, Hollies Acres, and south to Birch Lake. Find more information and an interactive map of these areas on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Services website. 

Temporary Flight Restriction:  New temporary flight restrictions were put in place on July 1; for more information, see: 4/6081 NOTAM Details (faa.gov). 

-BLM- 

Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, P.O. Box 35005, 1541 Gaffney Road, Fort Wainwright, AK 99703 

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The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS) located at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, provides wildland fire suppression services for over 240 million acres of Department of the Interior and Native Corporation Lands in Alaska. In addition, AFS has other statewide responsibilities that include: interpretation of fire management policy; oversight of the BLM Alaska Aviation program; fuels management projects; and operating and maintaining advanced communication and computer systems such as the Alaska Lightning Detection System. AFS also maintains a National Incident Support Cache with a $18.1 million inventory. The Alaska Fire Service provides wildland fire suppression services for America’s “Last Frontier” on an interagency basis with the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Military in Alaska. 

Categories: Active Wildland Fire, BLM Alaska Fire Service

Tags: McDonald Fire

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has vetoed $10 million in funding for the organization charged with marketing Alaska seafood — but may agree to the funding later.

On Friday, Dunleavy issued a line-item veto for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. The governor’s office said that he could seek the funding later if the institute submitted a more detailed plan for the funds. 

“The Dunleavy administration has offered support of supplemental funding next session once ASMI has developed a comprehensive marketing plan,” said Jeff Turner, the governor’s communications director. 

The funding could be included in a supplemental budget bill — every legislative session, Alaska governors propose these bills to cover unexpected needs and other expenses that weren’t included in the original budget.

Alaska’s $6 billion seafood industry employs over 48,000 workers annually in the state, according to a report commissioned by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. The institute is a state agency that aims to increase the economic value of Alaskan seafood.

The veto comes at a time when Alaska’s fishing industry is in crisis, facing low consumer demand and steep competition from Russia, which harvests many of the same species as Alaska. For example, in 2023, the price paid to sockeye-salmon fishers delivering their catches was half of the 2022 price, according to the report. 

Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak, described the condition of Alaska’s fishing industry as “pretty miserable.” 

“I’ve been involved in the fishing industry since 1970 and it’s just the worst I have ever seen,” said Stevens, who is also one of six legislators who are nonvoting members of the institute’s board. 

Last year, the institute received $5 million in funding from the state. Before then, they had not received any state general funds since June 2018. The institute relies mainly on federal and industry payments: This year, the institute is expected to receive $13 million in funds from the federal government, and $16.2 million from industry assessments.

“The governor is always saying that we want to tell the world that we are open for business, but nothing says ‘we’re closed for business’ more than cutting these funds from ASMI,” said Stevens. 

If the institute submits a detailed marketing plan for the vetoed funds, the governor could include funding in the state’s supplemental budget during the next legislative session, the governor’s office said. However, any potential funding would not be quickly available to the institute. 

“Waiting doesn’t help at all,” said Stevens. “It’s a very short-sighted view of the industry. Now is the time to help it out, not to just delay things.” 

According to ASMI’s executive director, Jeremy Woodrow, the institute’s main priorities lie in domestic markets. Multiple factors have influenced this focus. Among them: a strong dollar and weak yen has made Alaskan seafood less competitive in Japan, a key global market, said Woodrow. 

Regarding the effect of the veto, Woodrow said: “We support the governor’s budget, one way or another.”

Additionally, in 2022, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that prohibited Russian seafood imports. This executive order created a “hole” in the domestic seafood market that ASMI is looking to fill, according to Woodrow. 

“Any updated marketing plan is going to include those priorities,” said Woodrow.

Tracy Welch, executive director of United Fishermen of Alaska, described the veto as a “missed opportunity” to support the state’s fishers, processors, and coastal communities.

“ASMI has operated on a shoestring budget for quite a few years, and so they do a lot with what they’re given, so I have confidence that they’ll do as best they can,” she said. 

Despite her faith in the institute’s ability to “get creative” with the smaller budget, she emphasized the crisis that the seafood industry is currently facing. “The industry needs help now,” said Welch. “Not two years from now.” 

For now, Alaska’s seafood industry will need to wait until the next legislative session to know if the institute will receive additional funding from the state. 

“Any funding that we can get to help bolster that mission today, as opposed to tomorrow, is a step in the right direction,” said Welch.