Smoke from Interior Alaska wildfires drifts over Fairbanks
Originally published Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 7:08 p.m.
Updated Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 10:18 p.m.
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Stumble It!A mild haze began to descend on Fairbanks Saturday evening as a result of two Interior wildfires.
One of the fires has been active for several weeks, while the other was ignited last week, but strong winds of up to 25 mph began to send haze this way. A Red Flag warning remained in effect late Saturday night for the lower Koyukuk and middle Yukon Valleys, upper Koyukuk Valley, the Yukon Flats and the central Interior.
The Three Lakes Fire, located 20 miles north of Circle City on the east side of the Yukon River, was ignited by lightning on June 3, and has since burned more than 12,500 acres of black spruce, brush and tundra.
The Sheenjek River Fire, about 44 miles northeast of Fort Yukon, has consumed 200 acres of land since it was ignited by a lightning strike last Sunday.
“If haze starts coming around here, that’s probably what it is,” Doug Stockdale, spokesman for the Alaska Fire Service in Fairbanks said Saturday afternoon.
Neither fire is being staffed, but a crew of firefighters may be sent to the Sheenjek River Fire to protect resources in the area.
Despite a Red Flag warning during the weekend for most of the Interior because of the danger posed by especially dry conditions and the threat caused by people shooting off fireworks to celebrate Independence Day, no fires as a result of fireworks were reported Friday or Saturday.
However, smoke jumpers were called to Shaw Creek near Delta Junction on Friday to battle an eight-acre fire believed to have been caused by lightning.
Community Discussion
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I'm shocked and very happy that there were no fireworks-related fires this year! That is great news. I know they were going off EVERYWHERE in my neighborhood, but we skipped them this year since it was so dry.
Hope everybody had a great holiday!
You can see the smoke from the hillside of the Goldstream Valley heading in.
Sheenjek River is burning again? This must be the 3rd or 4th year in a row that same area has burned.
Yep, we can definitely smell it now here downtown.
And if you're interested in more information, visit http://fire.ak.blm.gov/
yeah, the smoke just got to my house in north pole about 30 minutes ago. I was hoping my nose was wrong, what can you do though. Does anyone know how long it is suppose to last?
Same here, hit Badger Road about 30 minutes ago. If the story posted is tracking, we're likely in for a smokey evening & day tomorrow unless the wind direction shifts. Here it comes...
Thanks to the News Miner for being on top of this story. Obviously there are a few of us that felt the need to check and see if there was only smoke and not fire in our neighborhoods. God bless the people who fight these fires and protect those that may be affected by the fires.
From the information I've gotten here in the newsroom, they're expecting the smoke to let up slightly as it turns cooler tonight. Tomorrow should be hazy if the winds remain constant, but there's a chance of rain increasing as we get later into Monday and through Wednesday.
This is a great example of how the newsminer blog can be used to relay information to residents. Thanks DNM.
I'm off Van Horn and started smelling it and seeing it about 9pm when we were grilling.
Pretty smokey/hazy here by the FAI Intl. airport (as of 9:30pm).
Thanks DNM for the info.
im here in redding ca fighting the fires here. its been pretty smoky but yesterday it cleared up a bit and it cooled off. its suppose to get back into the 100s by monday and then 110+ around wednesday. :) enjoy the weather in the banks. peace
Goldstream smoked up around 8:30, and as I write this (almost 11:00) the skies have already mostly cleared. Can still smell it, but it isn't oppressive. The sky is blue again. Hopefully just a brief blast of smoke. Don't ever want to see a summer like '04 again.
Take it easy down there, Calvin...that's just about as hot as it gets on planet earth!
It's back and drifting over the Goldstream valley this morning. Makes it look like the Smokey Mountains.
Holy Smoke !!!
Just got back from a weekend in the White Mountains. The smoke started rolling in Saturday morning where we were camping at Nome Creek. We thought the fire was much closer than Circle, but I guess not.
For the last two days the smoke has blown in from the Fort Yukon area. The trail of smoke from there is about 20 miles wide and 3,000 feet high. A 10 degree change in the wind would blow the smoke somewhere else. Fairbanks just happened to be in its path.
Thanks for all the news and comments about the smoke in Fairbanks. I live in Fairbanks, but I'm in Valdez right now. The smoke really bothers me, so I don't want to come back to Fairbanks if it is smokey. Please keep these comments coming!!
P.S. It's raining (big drops) and foggy here right now. Not nice, but better than smoke.
well at least the smoke is gone or at least not noticable anymore
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