Alaska News

Chisana River fire burns more than 17,000 acres in eastern Alaska

A lightning-sparked wildfire that has burned more than 17,000 acres in Alaska's eastern Interior is still growing and could threaten four cabins, the Division of Forestry said Friday.

The Chisana River 2 fire, ignited June 9, is burning in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve and the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, about 20 miles south of the Alaska Highway and 25 miles west of the Canadian border. As of late Thursday, it was estimated at more than 17,000 acres, Tim Mowry, Division of Forestry spokesman, said in a statement.

Fire managers monitoring the spread of the Chisana River 2 fire expected the acreage to increase given the forecast for hot, dry weather in the next week. But since the fire is in a limited-protection area, they have allowed it to burn, Mowry said. "It's all part of the natural landscape," he said.

Chisana, a tiny, remote settlement in the park and preserve, is the community closest to the fire, about 25 miles south of it. Chisana is home to dozens of people and a small number of hunting lodges.

"The fire is not threatening Chisana at this point and the primary objective of fire managers is to prevent it from doing so," Mowry said in the statement

However, the fire could threaten three cabins on park and preserve lands and one in the Tetlin Refuge. A crew of six has been assigned to the fire. Firefighters have set up sprinklers around King City Cabin, about four miles south of the fire, and around Stuver Creek Cabin, about four miles southwest, Mowry said.

Another objective of fire managers is to keep the fire from reaching the Sheep Creek drainage, about 5 miles upstream from the King City Cabin, he said.

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Smoke from the Chisana River 2 fire has drifted into the communities of Beaver Creek and Northway, where another fire started Friday.

Around 3:36 p.m. Friday, a new "fast moving" fire was reported near the dump at Northway, about 50 miles southeast of Tok. By 8 p.m., the fire had grown 300 acres and was burning black spruce, said a statement from Jim Schwarber, Division of Forestry planner.

"The fire is being aggressively attacked from the air with three water scooping aircraft, three helicopters using water buckets and two air tankers," he said. Several other firefighters were also dispatched to the site, he said.

The Northway fire was among 26 new fires reported in Alaska by 7:45 p.m. Friday, according to Pete Buist, spokesperson for the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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