Cone Fire in Koyukuk refuge at 50% containment; no threat to Huslia allotments

Eight smokejumpers held the Cone Fire at 50% containment inside Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge as of Saturday night, July 4, with no structures or Native allotments threatened. The fire sits 33 miles northwest of Huslia and 1.5 miles south of Billy Hawk Creek.

Satellite imagery detected the ignition on July 4, when the fire covered 21.5 acres. The crew encircled the blaze by Saturday night and shifted to targeting hotspots on Sunday, July 5, with plans to continue toward full containment. The fire grew to an estimated 25 acres between the two reports. "Fuels in the area are dry, however, the fire is not burning deep, making remaining heat easier to extinguish," the U.S. Wildland Fire Service said in its July 5 update.

The fire was not threatening structures or Native allotments as of the July 5 report. Alaska refuge fires are managed on a spectrum: some remote fires with no threatened communities or infrastructure may be monitored rather than actively fought, according to federal fire managers. Whether smokejumpers achieved full containment after July 5 had not been confirmed as of Tuesday.