Wildfires
RSSWildfires in Alaska are fires that burn forest, tundra and brushland across the state. They prompt evacuation orders, smokejumper and hand-crew deployments, burn permits and fire-weather alerts, and they threaten villages, Native allotments and rural infrastructure.
Anchorage is studying a new wildfire tax on every property owner as the federal money runs out
Anchorage is studying a new citywide wildfire tax — about $40 a year on an average home — as the federal grant funding its mitigation work expires in 2028.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Crews deploy to protect Native allotment near Tatlanika Fire
A remote Alaska fire left to burn has grown nearly 30-fold to 28,168 acres and now threatens a single Native allotment, drawing 14 firefighters to protect it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A fuel break cleared years ago helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling
A fuel break cleared in 2019-20 helped keep the Grandview Fire out of Sterling — a case of wildfire prep paying off, with no injuries and no homes lost.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Four wildfires broke out on the North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday
Four wildfires broke out on Alaska's North Slope within 17 minutes Thursday, across 40 miles of tundra, the kind of lightning-driven cluster expected to grow as the Arctic warms.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Alaska and Canadian crews fight a wildfire across the border
Alaska and Canadian crews are fighting a 20- to 30-acre wildfire 3 miles south of the Alcan Highway, with no evacuations or highway impacts expected.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
A cabin fire spread into a small wildfire north of Fairbanks
A cabin fire near the Chatanika River north of Fairbanks spread into a quarter-acre wildfire Sunday. Smokejumpers worked to contain it and watched it overnight.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
As the world burns, Alaska stays cool — a regional weather quirk
As Spokane and Europe burn in record heat, Alaska stays cool and barely burning — a regional weather quirk. The Arctic overall still hit record-low ice.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A $1.6 million grant to help Alaska burn on purpose, before wildfire does
A $1.6 million grant would build Alaska the fire-weather forecasting tool it lacks, so managers can safely burn off wildfire fuel before the wildfires arrive.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
The smoke over Fairbanks is from a fire the state is choosing to let burn
The smoke over Fairbanks is from the Tatlanika Fire, which the state is monitoring rather than suppressing because no structures are threatened. It's grown to about 2,000 acres.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A tiny fire near Koyuk has smoldered under investigation for a month
A quarter-acre fire 51 miles northeast of Koyuk has been under investigation for over a month, with no cause identified and no threat to homes or subsistence areas reported.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
State maps five years of possible Fairbanks-Delta timber sales
The state has mapped where logging could be proposed near Fairbanks and Delta through 2030 — as cutting on the Tanana Valley State Forest holds a steady pace.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Crews are cutting firebreaks in the woods at the center of Anchorage
Three Campbell Tract trail segments are closed through July 25 while crews trim the firebreaks keeping a wildfire out of Anchorage's neighborhoods.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Konedsin Minnkohwin Fire burns within Kanuti refuge near Allakaket
Lightning sparked a 200-acre fire in Kanuti refuge near Allakaket, with firefighters protecting cabins and fish camps instead of suppressing the main blaze.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks water scoopers were on practice flight, not a new fire
Four water scoopers flew a practice mission over Fairbanks on Friday to keep pilots sharp, not to fight a new fire.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Hillside neighborhood demands expedited chipping days as municipal contracting stalls
Hillside residents demand the Municipality speed up brush chipping before fire season peaks, citing stalled contracting and uncleared piles in the wildland-urban interface.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A fire no one is fighting has been fouling Fairbanks' air for weeks
Alaska's letting the Tatlanika Fire burn on purpose — too remote to be worth fighting — but its smoke has been parked over Fairbanks and Nenana for weeks anyway.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Northern Alaska's staffed wildfires wind down, but crews brace for more
Rain did what the crews couldn't and mopped up northern Alaska's last staffed fires — though with 2,000 lightning strikes a day, nobody's putting the shovels away.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A wildfire flared within a mile of the pipeline — briefly
A half-acre fire flared within a mile of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline near Livengood on the Fourth, then crews knocked it out the same day.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
NWS issues overlapping fire-weather alerts across northern Alaska through July 9
Fire-weather alerts cover northern Alaska through July 9 with dry fuels, lightning risk, and winds up to 35 mph across the Seward Peninsula, Kobuk, and Koyukuk valleys.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A wildfire came within a mile of Kaltag — then crews stopped it
A lightning fire pushed within a mile of Kaltag before smokejumpers and scooper planes held it at 55 acres, with the threat to the village easing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A wildfire is burning in protected caribou habitat in the Kanuti refuge
A lightning fire is burning in protected caribou habitat inside the Kanuti refuge near Allakaket. Crews are holding it in place; no communities are threatened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Nutmeg Fire near Wiseman hits 1,000 acres; federal managers let it burn
Lightning-caused Nutmeg Fire near Wiseman has burned roughly 1,000 acres since July 9, and federal managers are letting it burn as part of natural fire ecology.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Smokejumpers parachuted into a roadless village to save its solar array
A landfill fire jumped to the tundra and got within 100 yards of Selawik's solar array, so smokejumpers parachuted into the roadless village to save it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska is about to burn 54,000 acres on purpose, to grow more moose
Alaska plans to deliberately burn 54,000 acres of the Alphabet Hills this month to reset old spruce into the willow and birch moose need — a bet that pays off in 5 to 15 years.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Selawik landfill fire smoke poses distinct health risk beyond wildfire haze
A landfill fire near Selawik is sending toxic smoke into the air, posing greater health risks than typical wildfire smoke for elders and children.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Three wildfires close to Native allotments near Huslia and Galena as lightning siege continues
Three lightning fires are burning near Native allotments in western Alaska, with smokejumpers responding as part of a 19-fire surge across the state.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago3 min read
Notakok Fire held at 55 acres one mile from Kaltag as smokejumpers begin to stand down
The 55-acre Notakok Fire one mile from Kaltag entered mop-up operations Wednesday as most smokejumpers stood down and a full fire crew took over, with rain and humidity favoring containment.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Tatlanika Fire smoke reaches Fairbanks, 39 miles away
Smoke from the Tatlanika Fire, burning 982 acres 39 miles southwest of Fairbanks, is now visible in Fairbanks and Nenana, though no structures are threatened in its limited-response zone.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Five wildfire investigations span Interior to western Alaska
Look into the fires
by Alaska News3mo ago1 min read
Delta burn permits suspended Wednesday as fire conditions worsen
Alaska suspended all burn permits in the Delta Fire Prevention Area on Wednesday due to low humidity, gusty winds, and dry fuels that could turn any escaped ember into a fast-moving wildfire.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Selawik fuel tank farm, solar array threatened by landfill fire
A tundra fire that escaped Selawik's landfill Monday grew to 20 acres and now threatens the village's fuel tank farm and solar array, its only source of heating fuel and diesel power.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Fire Weather Watch issued for Lower Kobuk Valley through Wednesday
Fire Weather Watch in effect for Lower Kobuk Valley through Wednesday evening as temperatures near 80 degrees and humidity drops to 35 percent, raising lightning ignition risk across dry fuels.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
New fire burns 1.5 miles from Native allotment near Kaltag
Wildfire burning in black spruce four miles north of Kaltag is 1.5 miles from a Native allotment, with 12 smokejumpers and aircraft responding.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Five wildfires burning across Interior and Western Alaska as Siruk reaches 60% containment
The Siruk Fire near Allakaket reached 60% containment at 619 acres as crews push against forecast heat and critically dry conditions across five active Interior and Western Alaska fires.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cone Fire in Koyukuk refuge at 50% containment; no threat to Huslia allotments
Eight smokejumpers held the Cone Fire at 50% containment inside Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge as of Saturday, with no threat to Huslia Native allotments 33 miles away.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Six wildfire investigations open across Alaska over Fourth of July weekend
Six wildfire investigations opened across Alaska during the Fourth of July weekend as lightning storms and human activity continue sparking fires statewide.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Red Flag Warnings cover five western Alaska regions Tuesday as lightning threat may push to North Slope
Red Flag Warnings cover five western Alaska regions Tuesday as dry conditions and lightning threaten new wildfires, with storms possibly reaching the North Slope Wednesday.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Cecil Fire fully contained near Ruby; Big Fire at 70% with storms approaching
Cecil Fire near Ruby is fully contained at 724 acres, while Big Fire at 258 acres is 70% contained with thunderstorms and 40 mph gusts approaching the area.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska's quiet June fire season faces July's heat and lightning
Interior Alaska faces rising wildfire risk this weekend as July thunderstorms arrive over fuels that stayed wet through June's quiet fire season.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bean Fire burns 80 acres near Native allotments west of Manley Hot Springs
The Bean Fire burned 80 acres near Manley Hot Springs on Sunday, placing several Native allotments within five miles as smokejumpers and seven aircraft worked to contain it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read