Red Flag Warnings span Interior Alaska as fire season intensifies

Critical fire weather is fanning out across Interior and western Alaska this weekend, with the National Weather Service posting Red Flag Warnings — its signal for conditions that can drive rapid wildfire spread — in several zones at once.

Delta Junction draws the sharpest threat: warnings noon to 10 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, with south winds building to 30–40 mph and gusts to 55 on Sunday as humidity crashes to 20–25 percent and temperatures hit the upper 70s. The Yukon Flats falls under a warning Sunday afternoon, and the Kuskokwim Valley East and Lime Village area Friday afternoon into the night — each pairing gusty winds with humidity as low as 20 percent.

The warnings layer onto an already-dry Interior. The Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection suspended burn permits for the Tok and Delta Fire Prevention Areas on June 4, barring debris-pile burning, lawn burning, and burn barrels; cooking and warming fires are still allowed with caution.

The weekend fits a longer trend. During Wildfire Awareness Week in May, Rep. Ky Holland said the state's wildfire risk "has continued to grow" with a warming climate, producing more severe fires and a season that now starts earlier and runs later than it used to.