The blaze was 12,000 acres Tuesday night. But winds fanned the flames Wednesday, spreading the fire to the east, said Andy Alexandrou, public information officer for the Department of Natural Resources.
"Bottom line is, they lost a little bit of ground," Alexandrou said.
While the fire definitely expanded, part of the increased size estimates are also due to firefighters using a digital mapping system that gives them a better picture of the size and location of the fire, he said. Officials estimated the blaze was about 2.5 miles from McGrath -- closer than originally reported.
Alexandrou said it's still unlikely the fire will reach the town of roughly 300 people, which sits across the Kuskokwim River from the burn. But there is a slight risk, he said.
Firefighters are concentrating on the fire's southern perimeter, closest to McGrath, and on the eastern edge where people built cabins along the Kuskokwim River.
As many as 20 dwellings are threatened in the area, along with another 13 outbuildings, Alexandrou said.
Two fire crews were also protecting a homestead -- including livestock -- along the Takotna River on the western perimeter of the fire. The homestead is about half a mile from the flames.
Dry, brown grass and black spruce trees with limbs that reach into the tundra are fueling the fire, Alexandrou said. "Green-up hasn't occurred here ... so we don't have green shoots of grass coming up out of the tundra to blend in with dead grass from last year."
The fire is the largest of a series of wildfires started by lightning Sunday and Monday. Firefighters were also battling a 1,900-acre fire about 20 miles southeast of Sleetmute and had contained a 235-acre fire roughly 12 miles from Lime Village.
Fire officials expect slightly cooler temperatures and mostly cloudy weather in the region today.
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