Starry Fire forces Anderson evacuations; 75 personnel battle 688-acre blaze

Anderson residents are out of their homes. The Starry Fire, burning 688 acres about 80 miles south of Fairbanks, forced evacuations Saturday evening and they remain in place.

The fire started at the end of the Anderson Shooting Range. Within 25 minutes of the first call, it was spotting toward town. By 7:15 p.m. Saturday, the evacuation order was in place.

Seventy-five personnel worked through the night. Crews pushed until 4 a.m. trying to get ahead of a fire that Incident Commander Ed Sanford described in plain terms.

"Look at all the fire scars around here, you can tell by looking at them the wind comes through the valley from Healy and then zips and hooks with winds from thunderstorms," Sanford said.

He called it Big Fire Country. The wind does not negotiate, and crews know it. Resources must stay ready for wind switches that can change fire behavior without warning.

Four dozers completed a containment line on the fire's left flank overnight. The Pioneer Peak Hotshot Crew and Fairbanks One Crew cut saw line and laid hose. Smokejumpers worked the active north side late into the night. Local fire departments from Anderson, Clear, Nenana, and Tri-Valley kept water flowing.

The goal is to hold those lines and steer the fire west toward the river, away from Anderson and the nearby community of Clear.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Displaced residents can shelter at Tri-Valley School in Healy. The Denali Borough is managing logistics for evacuees.