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Lake Clark Wildfire Grows, Crews Gain Control of Crooked Creek Fires

J Mills
/
National Park Service

The fire in Lake Clark National park has grown more than 12,000 acres  in the last 3 days. The fire has extended both east and west and is over 11 miles long. It’s scorched a small runway. The four member Helitack team from McGrath is providing point protection at cabins near the fire and 8 new smoke jumpers dropped Monday as the fire moves toward cabins on a small lake to the east.

Crews are making headway on 3 fires in Southwest Alaska that have threatened the communities of Crooked Creek, Lime Village, and Stony River. Lime Hills, the largest fire in the state at over 170 thousand acres has 2 crews, about 56 people working the fire. The fire’s eastern edge has been expanding.

Eight smokejumpers are working at a Native allotment and buildings 12 miles east of Lime Village. Contingency preparations are in place for the possibility of fire jumping the river which is protecting the village.  As temperatures rise, a shift in strong winds could cause the fire to spot across the river upstream from the village.

The Moose Creek fire, 10 miles north of community of Stony River is now 90 percent contained at around 19 acres. Crews are working hot spots on in dense black spruce.  It’s in full protection status and fire officials hope to have full control by Friday.

Near the Kuskokwim river, two fires near the village of Crooked Creek have been contained.  Patrol of hotspots will continue.

To date, 352 fire have burned more than 530 thousand acres in the state.

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