Anchorage Daily News

The wildfire burning about five miles north of McGrath has more than doubled in size in the past two days, fire officials said this morning.

The fire, sparked by lightning on Sunday, had grown to about 12,000 acres as of last night, said Andy Alexandrou, a public information officer for the Department of Natural Resources.

The Kuskokwim River separates McGrath from the fire, which isn't likely to reach the town of roughly 300, Alexandrou said. As of Tuesday, about 130 firefighters and support workers were assigned the blaze.

Fire officials planned to add roughly 100 more people today. Their focus will be on keeping the fire away from homesteads and cabins along the Kuskokwim and Takotna rivers, Alexandrou said.

He said he hasn't heard of any buildings damaged so far, with the fire about 10 percent contained as of Tuesday night.

The fire, called the Broken Showshoe fire, is the largest of a series of wildfires started by lightening Sunday and Monday. Firefighters are also battling a 1,200-acre fire about 20 miles southeast of Sleetmute and a 235-acre fire roughly 12 miles from Lime Village.

The fires aren't considered to be a threat to Lime Village or Sleetmute, Alexandrou said.

Firefighters are looking forward to cooler weather this week to aid their efforts.

"We're looking at lower temperatures and higher humidities, which greatly aids the fire suppression efforts."

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