Fire season in Alaska is winding down — enough that Alaska crews are now fighting fires in the Lower 48. But Tim Mowry said this year will be one to remember.
“Early spring — hot, dry conditions early on — and a big lightning bust in the middle of June, and we’ve got the number two ranking fire season on record,” he said.
Mowry is an information officer with the Alaska Division of Forestry. He said nearly 750 fires were reported statewide this season, burning over 5 millions acres as of Aug. 14. That’s still 1.5 million acres short of the 2004 record, but Mowry said it was enough to stretch resources thin and require support from fire crews from the Lower 48 and Canada.
Now — with weather cooling off and fires coming under control — Alaska firefighters are returning the favor. Mowry said 10 crews had left for the Lower 48 as of Aug. 17. They’ll be combating blazes in states like California, Idaho, and Montana.
“It’s sort of a fitting end to the season that we can reciprocate and start sending some crews down there to help out with the high fire activity in the Western U.S.,” he said.
Firefighters from western Alaska are among those answering the call for support, including crews from St. Michael, Kaltag, and Chevak. Mowry said fighting fires in the Lower 48 is an opportunity for those crews to keep working after a “somewhat active” season in western Alaska.
“You guys were impacted by smoke over in that region as a result of all the fires burning along the Yukon River,” Mowry said. “There were several instances where we had smokejumpers based in Nome this summer, and I don’t think that’s a normal occurrence. You guys had an almost 22,000 acre fire at the end of the Kougarok Road.”
While Mowry said it’s difficult to make predictions about next season, he said he wouldn’t be surprised to see “holdover” fires from this year ignite again next spring.
“It’s not uncommon for fires — whey they burn as hot and as deep as they did this year — to lay low the whole winter and still smolder and keep enough heat. So when things do dry out, those fires can come back to life.”
There are still about 200 active fires burning statewide. Mowry said only one of them — the Rock Creek Fire in Hughes — still has a crew monitoring the blaze.
