Mastadon Fire reaches full containment after drone-guided mop-up

The Mastadon Fire southeast of Talkeetna reached 100% containment at 1:11 PM Friday after crews used infrared drone flights to locate residual heat sources not visible to the naked eye and extinguish the last hot spots inside the 18-acre burn, the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection announced.

An infrared drone flight at 9:30 AM Friday detected one remaining area of heat within the fire interior. Ground crews extinguished the heat source. A second drone flight is scheduled for Saturday morning to confirm no re-ignition risk remains.

On Thursday evening, the Pioneer Peak Hotshot Crew and Mat-Su Type 2 Fire Crew worked late into the night locating and extinguishing remaining hot spots, removing hazard trees, and completing gridding operations 100 feet into the black. On Friday, crews continued gridding operations deeper into the fire interior, breaking apart heavy fuels and mitigating hazard trees as needed to ensure all remaining heat is identified and extinguished.

The Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection released the Pioneer Peak Interagency Hotshot Crew from the incident following the containment declaration. The crew will refurbish equipment before returning to initial-attack assignments as the 2026 fire season continues across the state.

The Mastadon Fire was first reported June 3 near South Mastodon Road and Answer Creek, burning in grass, hardwoods, and spruce. By the evening of June 4, the fire had grown to 18.4 acres and reached 80% containment, with no structures threatened and no evacuations ordered.

For more information, the public can call the Statewide Fire Information Line at 907-356-5511.