Date: July 13, 2013
Contact: Mary McBurny, (907) 602-2333
State of Alaska Division of Forestry fire managers flew the Currant Creek Fire late yesterday and reported seeing a column of smoke with an occasional torching tree in the fire’s northwest section. The fire activity appears to be confined to a few acres of unburned fuel inside the fire perimeter, but is expected to move downhill and slightly up valley into a pocket of spruce that did not burn in previous fire runs. Once this area of unburned spruce is consumed, there should be little danger of the fire spreading south of Currant Creek.
Division of Forestry fire managers have prepositioned smokejumpers in the event that winds in the area pick up and begin producing embers that can be blown across Currant Creek and start new fires. Aerial surveillance of the fire will be conducted throughout the weekend to monitor fire activity and any significant changes in fire behavior.
The warm, dry weather of the last several days is expected to diminish this weekend with scattered afternoon and evening showers in the forecast for later today. A weather front moving in from the Bering Sea is predicted to bring rain early in the week, which should reduce activity on the Currant Creek Fire and overall fire danger around Lake Clark.
Area residents, park visitors and aviators should be prepared to deal with periods of smoke, diminished air quality and reduced visibility until the fire it is declared out.
For the latest information on wildfire smoke and air quality in your area, check the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Air Quality website at http://dec.alaska.gov/air/smokemain.htm.
