Grandview Fire reaches 50 acres near Sterling with major air and ground response

No structures had been lost, no injuries reported, and no evacuations ordered, but a major multi-agency wildfire response was underway Wednesday evening along the Sterling Highway corridor on the Kenai Peninsula after the Grandview Fire (#204) near Sterling reached an estimated 50 acres, the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection reported. Homer Electric Association, the member-owned cooperative serving roughly 35,000 members on the Kenai Peninsula including the Sterling area, coordinated a temporary de-energization of nearby power lines, according to local accounts, a detail consistent with standard wildfire safety practice that had not been fully documented in formal agency updates as of Wednesday night.

Resources and Initial Attack

As of 9:00 p.m. on June 17, the agency said retardant tankers were working the right flank while six single-engine scoopers dropped water on the left. Resources committed to the incident included 10 engines, 2 helicopters, 2 hand crews, 1 air attack aircraft, 2 air tankers, and 6 single-engine scoopers, according to the official incident update. Local accounts also referenced a Temporary Flight Restriction over the fire area, consistent with standard practice for active wildfire incidents, though that detail had not been fully documented in written state or federal agency notices as of Wednesday night.

By 11:00 p.m. on June 17, crews had completed a dozer line along the southern flank and reinforced the northern retardant line, the agency said. Fire activity had reduced, but heat remained in the interior. The Gannet Glacier Type 2 IA Crew, a wildland fire hand crew organized under the Alaska fire program, was among the resources assigned.

Conditions on the Ground

The fire is burning in Limited protection along the Sterling Highway corridor on the Kenai Peninsula. No structure losses, injuries, or evacuations had been reported as of the latest update.

Statewide Context

The Grandview Fire is one incident in a broader 2026 fire season. KSRM Radio, citing official briefings, reported that 278 fires had burned 270,478 acres across Alaska as of Wednesday. BLM Alaska Fire Service Predictive Services listed Alaska's statewide fire Preparedness Level at 2 on June 17.