Cool, rainy weather over much of Alaska last week has dampened this year’s wildfire season, which was shaping up to be one of the worst on record. State and federal agencies are sending some crews home, but officials warn the fires could return after a day or two of dry, hot weather. Hot and dry weather earlier this summer created ideal conditions for wildfires that have burned nearly 3 million acres in Alaska this year, making it the sixth-worst fire season on record. In response, the agencies have mobilized 2,000 firefighters from across the state and abroad. And they were going to raise the state’s wildfire preparedness rating to the highest level. “We’re down to four now,” said State Forestry Division spokesman Sam Harrell. “Five is the top. Last week and the week before that we were planning the fifth level.” Harrell says that all changed in the last week or so after the storms that had produced dry lightning finally started producing rain. “Tomorrow morning, Alaska will drop to readiness level three,” he said. In response to the changing weather, officials lowered the fire danger level in many areas and lifted the statewide emergency ban. Harrell says some of the state’s elite fire response teams are getting ready to pack up and go home. “The fire season is increasing in the Lower 48 and there is a demand for resources,” he said. “Once they’re done with their mission in Alaska, we deport them back to the Lower 48 or back to Canada, depending on where they’re from.” That’s the case with the Lime Complex, a series of 18 wildfires that have burned more than 865,000 acres in southwest Alaska. Harrell says forest officials also hope to soon take over management of the 38,000-acre Minto Lakes Fire northwest of Fairbanks. He says fire management in the 61,000-acre Middle Tanana Complex, burning between Salcha and Delta Junction, is also being scaled back. “The fires aren’t growing anymore, so the management team there has moved to a smaller team, from a type 2 incident management team to a type 3 team,” Harrell said. Cool weather has slowed the 72,000-acre Clear Fire burning west of Anderson. And Harrell says firefighters there want to take advantage of the opportunity to contain the fire’s growth. “They are still dealing with some active sections of the line on this fire. And since crews aren’t needed on some of these other fires, we’re moving them to Clear,” he said. Harrell says fire officials are staying cautious because they know hot, dry weather is likely to return. He says this has happened in previous fire seasons very similar to this one. “In previous years of great extent, this is how these summers have been. We would have our typical lull this time, only for it to dry out in August and September,” he said. Harrell says the fire season is only half over, and the Forest Service will continue to fight high-priority wildfires into the fall.
