Crews deploy to protect Native allotment near Tatlanika Fire

The Tatlanika Fire has grown to 28,168 acres, close enough to a single Native allotment that the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection has sent 14 firefighters and a fire medic to camp on site. The crew is cutting indirect line around the fire, which is burning about 2.25 miles from the allotment.

The National Interagency Fire Center's Saturday situation report listed the fire at 28,168 acres and 5 percent contained.

The division said perimeter growth over the past week pushed northeast along the Wood River boundary and toward the adjacent military management zone. Firefighters flew the fire by helicopter to map its footprint and identify values at risk. Southwestern winds up to 25 mph were observed, mostly on the west side. That west flank, those winds and continuous fuels line up directly with the allotment.

Five Fairbanks Area Forestry firefighters were inserted Wednesday, Aug. 5. A nine-person module from Southwest Alaska and a dedicated fire medic flew in two days later, on Friday.

"The immediate action plan consists of cutting an indirect line around the fire and plumbing it with pumps and hose, as well as considering other tactics as necessary," the division said. A helicopter is assigned to move crews, equipment and supplies. "A boat has also been hired for logistical and medical support as needed."

"No evacuations have been issued, and no additional infrastructure or communities are currently threatened," the division said.

The fire was discovered June 20 near the Tatlanika River and has burned under a Limited Management Option, a designation under which remote fires may be monitored and allowed to play their natural ecological role unless people, property or other protected values are threatened. Native allotments carry full protection status inside those areas. That is the same reason smokejumpers and the Chena Hotshots were sent to the Canyon Fire west of Rampart in June. A July 8 Alaska Fire Info update put the Tatlanika Fire at 982 acres with no allotments threatened at that time. A fire-map summary dated Aug. 5 still described the fire as monitored, with no immediate threat to communities or homes, though it gave no updated acreage.

The fire has grown nearly 30-fold since that July 8 count. What was once monitored from a distance now has crews on the ground conducting point protection for the Native allotment.

Smoke has been visible this season from Fairbanks, Anderson and Delta, varying with wind and rain.