Fire burns within mile of Ambler as crews race to protect village

The Kopshesut Fire burned within a mile of Ambler on Friday, pushed southeast toward the Kobuk River by wind gusts that reached 30 mph on Thursday.

Twenty-four smokejumpers worked the fire's eastern edge and right flank using a direct extinguishment strategy to prevent the blaze from reaching the village. U.S. Wildland Fire Service personnel reported the fire was estimated at 500 acres and 10 percent contained as of Friday afternoon. The fire is burning approximately one mile west of the community. Ambler's remoteness, with no road connection to the state highway system, shapes both wildfire response logistics and evacuation planning for the Iñupiaq community of 274 residents on the north bank of the Kobuk River.

Two additional crews are being shuttled from Fairbanks to the fire over the next two days. The North Star Crew and the Midnight Sun Hotshots will add more than 40 firefighters to the suppression effort. Aircraft including single-engine water scoopers, helicopters, and two Alaska Division of Forestry air tankers supported ground crews Friday.

Fire activity moderated overnight after Thursday's wind-driven run through black spruce. After a morning of cloudy skies Friday, west to northwest winds were expected to persist, with occasional gusts up to 25 mph later in the day. A weather system moving south from the Arctic is expected to bring cooler temperatures over the weekend, with isolated showers possible Saturday afternoon, though forecasters said the potential for meaningful wetting rain remains low.

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service launched a full suppression response to the fire on June 4. Smokejumpers flying over the fire between 4 and 5 p.m. that day reported the fire doubled in size within that one-hour period.