Burn permits suspended in Fairbanks, Delta and Tok areas

Alaska's Division of Forestry suspended all burn permits across the Fairbanks, Tok and Delta areas on Aug. 12, shutting down debris burning, burn barrels and lawn burning while critically dry conditions hold. Six fire zones are covered, and no new permits are being issued anywhere in the three areas until conditions improve. No end date was set.

Fire danger was rated very high in Tok and high in Fairbanks as the suspension took effect, and the timing tracks the season's most dangerous stretch: late August into September, when the deep duff — the packed layer of old needles and moss beneath the surface — dries out and fire, once into it, becomes hard to stop. Forecasters called for warm, dry weather with low humidity through the weekend, and then wind: gusts up to 50 mph through Alaska Range passes look probable Sunday night into Monday.

The suspension is the latest in a string across the Interior this season, and the second for Tok this month. It comes as the Tatlanika Fire has pushed smoke into Fairbanks and Nenana for weeks. Now the larger of two staffed Interior fires at more than 31,000 acres in the Tanana Flats, it has crews cutting fuel breaks around a Native allotment near its northern edge; no evacuations have been ordered, and the division did not name the fire as a reason for the suspension.