The area where the tundra fire is burning, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, lost its snowpack early this year, leaving grass and other vegetation longer to dry out. Mary's, but those burned in boreal forests. There are much bigger fires recorded just 97 kilometres north of St. He said based on records from the Alaska Fire Service dating back to the 1940s, this is the largest documented wildfire in the lower Yukon River valley. Other aircraft had been dropping water on the fire until another fire broke out north of a nearby community, Mountain Village.Ĭlimate change has played a role in this historic fire, said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks' International Arctic Research Center. Ipsen said she was not aware of any structures that have been lost.Ĭrews cleared brush and other fuel from a swath of land in the path of the flames, and air tankers dropped retardant between the line and St. Mary's in that time and was about 11.27 kilometres away on Friday.
The fire had not grown much since Thursday and was still estimated at 202 square kilometres. There are about 65 firefighters battling the blaze, with about 40 more expected later Friday, Ipsen earlier said by phone. Mary's and Pitkas Point, Yup'ik subsistence communities with a combined population of about 700 people and about 16 kilometres apart. The fire is consuming dry grass, alder and willow bushes on the largely treeless tundra as gusts of up to 48.28 km/h are pushing the fire in the general direction of St. Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox.
That would be followed by "set," or getting a go-bag ready and leaving if the "go" order is given. Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service spokesperson Beth Ipsen by text. Mary's and Pitkas Point into "ready" status, meaning residents should gather important items they would want to have with them if they have to evacuate, said U.S. Officials on Friday put the communities of St. This came a day after dozens of elders and residents with health concerns voluntarily evacuated because of smoke from the nearby fire. The largest documented wildfire burning through tundra in southwest Alaska was within miles of two Alaska Native villages, prompting officials Friday to urge residents to prepare for possible evacuation.
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