Notakok Fire burns within a mile of Kaltag as crews push toward containment

A lightning-caused wildfire ignited about four miles north of Kaltag on July 6 and was burning about one mile from the community by July 8, with numerous Native allotments within three miles of the perimeter.

The Notakok Fire reached 55 acres before a coordinated air-and-ground response by the U.S. Wildland Fire Service held it there. Fifteen smokejumpers and water-scooping aircraft worked through Monday night to slow the fire's spread through black spruce. The Type 2 North Star Fire Crew was ordered to the incident to assist with containment, with half the crew already on the fire by July 8 and the remaining members arriving that day.

Kaltag residents raised the alarm. "The lightning-caused fire was reported by several Kaltag residents who spotted a large column of smoke rising nearby," Public Affairs Specialist Beth Ipsen said in the July 7 incident update.

By July 8, smokejumpers had installed hose lines on both flanks to aid mop-up. "Eight of the 15 smokejumpers assigned to the incident will demobilize later today," Ipsen said in the July 8 update. "The chance of further spread remains low," she said. Mostly cloudy skies, periods of rain, and high overnight humidity were expected to reduce fire activity and assist with mop-up.

As of July 8, crews were working toward a declaration that the fire was contained and controlled and no longer a threat to Kaltag. Whether that declaration came before this article published was not confirmed in the source material.