Alaska battles huge wildfire while Arizona struggles to contain blaze
• Conflagration covers more than 193 square miles
• Smoke from controlled burning over Sedona and Flagstaff
• Smoke from controlled burning over Sedona and Flagstaff
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A wildfire in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula has grown to cover more than
193 square miles, but was only 20% contained as of Sunday morning, fire
officials said.
The Funny River Fire threatens about 150 cabins, vacation homes and year-round residences in three communities. Authorities have told people in those areas to be ready to leave but had not issued an evacuation order.
In Arizona, a wildfire burning in rugged terrain in a northern canyon grew significantly because of fires intentionally set by crews to rob the blaze of its natural forest fuels, officials said Saturday.
The Funny River Fire, burning in the 1.9-million-acre Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, grew by about 42 square miles on Saturday.
The size of the fire is not unusual for Alaska but the state does not usually see such large fires this early in the season, said Michelle Weston, spokeswoman with the Alaska Interagency Management Team, which includes the state Division of Forestry and federal and local officials.
About 409 firefighters are assigned to the fire, which is the most active of several large wildfires burning in Alaska.
An average of a million acres burn each fire season, Weston said. The state is experiencing unusually dry conditions because of unseasonably warm spring temperatures. High wind is also a challenge.
Governor Sean Parnell was scheduled to visit the fire command post on Sunday.
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, aimed at moose protection. Wildlife viewing, fishing, camping and hiking attract visitors from around the world.
In Arizona, crews had mostly completed burnout operations on the key northern flank of the Slide Fire and were preparing to make similar protection efforts on the fire's western end. The burnout operations conducted on Friday night by fire crews contributed to heavy smoke over Sedona and Flagstaff.
"They are making progress. Having the humidity and cooler temperatures was certainly very helpful. But we are by no means done yet," the Coronado National Forest Service information officer, Gerry Perry, said on Saturday night.
The size of the human-caused fire had reached 16 square miles by Saturday morning. It had grown nearly by nearly five square miles since the latest report on its size.
It was burning around Oak Creek Canyon, a scenic recreation area along the highway between Sedona and Flagstaff that would normally be filed with tourists as Memorial Day approaches. Slide Rock State Park, one of the most-visited tourist spots in Arizona, was closed.
The Coconino county sheriff's office said in a statement on Saturday that it expected to lift the warning on Monday for the 3,200 residents of those two communities. Mandatory evacuations will probably remain in place in Oak Creek Canyon from Slide Rock State Park to Sterling Springs Hatchery.
Perry said crews working on Friday night also focused on building protection lines to handle a finger of fire that took off in west Oak Creek. There were no homes in the area, and crews have made solid progress in protecting that area, Perry said.
Crews cleared out brush and conducted burnout operations to protect a power line that supplies electricity to Flagstaff.
No homes had been destroyed. The fire was 5% contained.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/25/alaska-wildfire-arizona
The Funny River Fire threatens about 150 cabins, vacation homes and year-round residences in three communities. Authorities have told people in those areas to be ready to leave but had not issued an evacuation order.
In Arizona, a wildfire burning in rugged terrain in a northern canyon grew significantly because of fires intentionally set by crews to rob the blaze of its natural forest fuels, officials said Saturday.
The Funny River Fire, burning in the 1.9-million-acre Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, grew by about 42 square miles on Saturday.
The size of the fire is not unusual for Alaska but the state does not usually see such large fires this early in the season, said Michelle Weston, spokeswoman with the Alaska Interagency Management Team, which includes the state Division of Forestry and federal and local officials.
About 409 firefighters are assigned to the fire, which is the most active of several large wildfires burning in Alaska.
An average of a million acres burn each fire season, Weston said. The state is experiencing unusually dry conditions because of unseasonably warm spring temperatures. High wind is also a challenge.
Governor Sean Parnell was scheduled to visit the fire command post on Sunday.
The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1941 as the Kenai National Moose Range, aimed at moose protection. Wildlife viewing, fishing, camping and hiking attract visitors from around the world.
In Arizona, crews had mostly completed burnout operations on the key northern flank of the Slide Fire and were preparing to make similar protection efforts on the fire's western end. The burnout operations conducted on Friday night by fire crews contributed to heavy smoke over Sedona and Flagstaff.
"They are making progress. Having the humidity and cooler temperatures was certainly very helpful. But we are by no means done yet," the Coronado National Forest Service information officer, Gerry Perry, said on Saturday night.
The size of the human-caused fire had reached 16 square miles by Saturday morning. It had grown nearly by nearly five square miles since the latest report on its size.
It was burning around Oak Creek Canyon, a scenic recreation area along the highway between Sedona and Flagstaff that would normally be filed with tourists as Memorial Day approaches. Slide Rock State Park, one of the most-visited tourist spots in Arizona, was closed.
The Coconino county sheriff's office said in a statement on Saturday that it expected to lift the warning on Monday for the 3,200 residents of those two communities. Mandatory evacuations will probably remain in place in Oak Creek Canyon from Slide Rock State Park to Sterling Springs Hatchery.
Perry said crews working on Friday night also focused on building protection lines to handle a finger of fire that took off in west Oak Creek. There were no homes in the area, and crews have made solid progress in protecting that area, Perry said.
Crews cleared out brush and conducted burnout operations to protect a power line that supplies electricity to Flagstaff.
No homes had been destroyed. The fire was 5% contained.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/25/alaska-wildfire-arizona
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