Chena Hot Springs resort continues to welcome guests even as wildfire evacuation order remains in effect

Rain and cloud cover provided a reprieve Tuesday and Wednesday for wildland firefighters attempting to control a 25,000-acre blaze that threatened the Chena Hot Springs Resort east of Fairbanks.

Although the fire is far from containment and some of the surrounding area has burned, owner Bernie Karl said he feels the danger to the resort itself has passed.

The resort remained open this week despite an evacuation order that was issued Monday for the area. Karl said he was not personally notified about the evacuation order and he remained at the resort because he did not feel there was any danger.

“We felt very, very secure, very safe and we had a plan that we put together — we had a very good evacuation plan put together if we needed it,” he said.

About 30 people from nearby cabins also stayed put despite a notification from troopers that they should leave for their own safety, said Tim Mowry, a spokesman for the Alaska Division of Forestry. The evacuation notice stretched from Mile 45 to Mile 56, but it was not immediately clear how many people were affected by it because many of the structures in the area are not primary residences.

Nine of the resort’s 80 employees evacuated early this week, Karl said. All will have their jobs when they return once the fire danger has subsided, he said.

Karl said he has encouraged guests to continue to visit the resort — “I tell people to come enjoy the smoke and take a soak,” he said. Smoke and flames billowed from a forested area visible from the hot springs and the fire had crept within 100 yards of the resort by Tuesday.

On Monday, when the evacuation order was issued, the hotel saw 30 parties with reservations arrive, though Karl said fire crews shut down a portion of the road that day, blocking about 30 parties from reaching the resort that night. On Tuesday, 42 parties with reservations made it to the hot springs, and Karl said 60 new parties were expected to reach the area Wednesday.

The evacuation notice remained in effect Wednesday, even as rain and cloud cover lowered temperatures throughout the region, slowing the spread of the blaze. The fire, which was started by lightning on June 18, was estimated to be nearly 26,000 acres on Tuesday.

“The evacuation status is evaluated daily and will be lowered when threats from the fire are reduced,” the forestry division said Wednesday.

Karl said the resort is home to a large number of animals that are all safe. He said the horses were moved to a different pasture as a precaution. Several people had arrived at the resort Monday with trailers to help evacuate the horses and sled dogs, but Karl said he had not asked them to arrive and said he feels that the animals are safer staying put. If the need arises, he said they will evacuate the animals, although he doesn’t think that’s likely to happen.

Fire crews spent the past week preparing to protect structures in the area in anticipation of the fire’s approach. Crews cleared brush, doused buildings with water and set up sprinkler systems in the area. The fire picked up speed Monday when heavy winds caused it to grow significantly and shift toward the resort. The fire was about a mile from Chena Hot Springs Road in the closest spot on Wednesday.

“Starting yesterday and continuing today, firefighters are able to ‘go direct’ on the burning edge of the fire to stop the slow, creeping movement down the hill directly behind Chena Hot Springs,” the forestry division said.

Temperatures are forecast to be in the 70s early next week, which will provide conditions that could again cause the fire to spread more quickly, the forestry division said.

The resort was trying to provide assistance to fire crews by allowing them to use conference rooms and providing water for firefighting, according to Karl. He said he was thankful for all of the people working to mitigate the blaze. Roughly 200 personnel and firefighters were assigned to the blaze by Wednesday.

Chena Hot Springs implemented fire protection measures after the resort was threatened during a 2004 wildfire that devoured 6.5 million acres, Karl said. Several buildings were damaged during the blaze, and Karl said he installed metal roofs on nearly every building in the resort afterward because hot embers had sparked fires after falling onto rooftops.

The resort invested in fire equipment and Karl said they cut a large fire break in a portion of the property as a precaution.

The mitigation, he said, made him feel confident during this wildfire that the resort would be safe. Karl said he did not evacuate the resort during that fire, either.

“The fire was 1,000 times worse in 2004,” he said. “It was completely around the resort, but we stayed here, put sprinklers on all the roofs and we protected the place then, too.”

The resort is surrounded by two creeks, Spring Creek and Monument Creek, with a runway stretch of land between. Karl wishes he would have cut a fire line farther up from the resort to protect all of the land from the current fire, he said.

About 1,500 acres of the roughly 2,000-acre resort property have burned in the Munson Creek Fire, according to Karl. The physical loss to the surrounding area, he said, is overwhelming.

“I really can’t even describe what it looks like,” Karl said. “It’s like it’s been in a war zone.”