Flames and smoke rise from the Sheenjek River Fire near Fort Yukon on Monday night. Crews were trying to contain the 62,000-acre blaze Tuesday and were helped by the absence of strong winds that more than doubled the size of the fire over the weekend. High winds are in the forecast for today.
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Published: June 22, 2005
Last Modified: June 22, 2005 at 04:56 AM
Smoke, more smoke and a light dusting of ash drifted through Fort Yukon on Tuesday as the Sheenjek River wildfire continued to blaze through stands of white and black spruce about eight miles away, village residents and firefighters said.
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The Porcupine River lies between Fort Yukon and the 62,000-acre fire, which began more than a week ago and doubled in size last weekend. The fire shot across the river late Monday afternoon and burned about three acres, but firefighters were able to put it down.
"It is smoky in our village," said Susan Solomon, acting executive director for the Gwitchyaa Gwich'in Tribal Government. "We don't see the fire, (but) last week you could really see the smoke clouds."
Solomon and Adlai Alexander, the tribe's first chief, said the smoke is mostly light this week and more noticeable at night -- or at least what passes for night in a place where the sun doesn't go down at this time of year.
"Yesterday we had ash falling," Solomon said. "It probably fell for a couple of hours."
The village wasn't in immediate danger, but Alexander and Solomon said Bureau of Land Management officials were to meet with tribal and city officials Tuesday afternoon to make contingency plans.
"People are concerned but not that bad," Alexander said. "We're having a meeting this afternoon ... at the tribal office to put some kind of plan into place just in case we have to evacuate."
The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center at Fort Wainwright issued an air quality advisory shortly before noon for areas downwind of the Sheenjek fire and two other Interior wildfires, but Alexander and Solomon said the smoke in Fort Yukon on Tuesday was light and so far seems mostly to bother elders and people with respiratory problems like asthma or emphysema.
"Some people have watery and scratchy eyes from the smoke, but nothing really serious," said Alexander, who also works at the Yukon Flats Health Center.
Fort Yukon is a village of about 600 people, about 145 miles northeast of Fairbanks. The community is at the confluence of the Yukon and Porcupine rivers.
Fire crews burned out vegetation ahead of the blaze Tuesday, trying to keep it from spreading further south toward Fort Yukon. Lighter winds than forecast helped firefighters hold the line, but the National Weather Service Tuesday afternoon issued a red flag high wind warning for today for the southeastern Brooks Range and the Yukon Flats.
"Our goal is to keep it north of the Porcupine River," fire information officer Tom Kempton said Tuesday.
Federal air traffic controllers have set up a control tower in Fort Yukon to help direct the helicopters, water scoopers, cargo and supply aircraft working to douse the blaze.
"It's a pretty unusual happening," Kempton told The Associated Press. "This incident has so many aircraft assigned to it."
About 280 firefighters are in the field, including a fire crew from Fort Yukon, according to the agency and Solomon.
BLM is also renting trucks and other vehicles from residents to move equipment to the river, and boats to carry it to spike camps near the fire, Solomon and Alexander said.
Daily News reporter Don Hunter can be reached at dhunter@adn.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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