Crews were ordered to join smokejumpers who are hard at work on the Deception Pup Fire (#252) burning near Central and the Flasco Fire (#259) south of Circle.  

Three highly trained and cohesive hotshot crews arrived in Fairbanks from California Wednesday. The Smith River Hotshots and Lassen Hotshots will make the 150-160 mile drive up the Steese Highway Thursday to help the smokejumpers already on the ground trying to suppress these two fires.  

In addition, a Type 3 Incident Management Team from Idaho is gearing up to take over efforts on a group of fires, including the Deception Pup and Flasco fires, in northeastern Alaska. 

At an estimated 150 acres and burning near a group of Native allotments and homes north of mile 124.5 Steese Highway, the Deception Pup Fire was the highest priority in Alaska Wednesday. The 21 smokejumpers assigned got a hose lay around half of the fire Tuesday in anticipation of using water to cool down the edges. The fire calmed early Wednesday morning, but they were expecting things to pick back up as the day got hotter.  

The smokejumpers reported the aerial water drops and retardant drops were effective in slowing down the fire’s growth Tuesday night. Water scoopers and a helicopter continued that effort Wednesday while the smokejumpers tried continued to get a line around the fire.  

The Flasco Fire, only 30 miles away, is threatening another group of Native allotment and homes burning just south of Circle. This fire is burning in heavy spruce timber which requires substantial saw work to construct a fireline. Smokejumpers estimated it was 5% contained Wednesday morning. The 145 smokejumpers assigned will continue to construct a fireline in hopes to keep the fire within a 7-acre footprint. 

Both fires had scoopers and helicopters dropping water on the fire to help cool them down. 

The concern is upcoming Red Flag Conditions Thursday in an area already plagued by persistent hot and dry conditions. Thursday’s weather not only includes temperatures reaching into the 80s and possibly as high as 90, but the area could experience easterly wind and dry lightning. There’s a potential for thunderstorms in the area Thursday that could bring gusty, erratic winds and a chance of dry lightning. This could result in rapid fire growth on existing fires and dangerous new fires in Interior Alaska. 

Other fires the Idaho Team will manage include: 

The Crazy Fire (#152) is approximately 329 acres and burning in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge about 46 miles north of the Steese Highway. It is in limited management option area and will be monitored. This lightning-caused fire was detected on June 17.  

The American Fire (#262) started on Tuesday and is burning approximately 15 miles northeast of Mount Prindle and about 20 miles north of mile 77 Steese Highway. This lightning-caused fire is about 7 acres and burning in a limited management option area. It will be monitored by the team. 

The Ikheenjik Fire (#184) is burning on BLM-managed land almost 12 miles southeast of Circle Hot Springs and 20 miles southeast of Central on the east side of the Ikheenjik River. This lightning-caused fire was detected on June 18 and was estimated at 35 acres on Wednesday. It is burning in limited management option are and will be monitored. 

-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: american fire, Central and Circle Cluster Fires, Crazy Fire, Deception Pup, Flasco Fire, Ikheenjik Fire