The Alaska Division of Forestry reported over 1,200 lightning strikes late Wednesday night. Forestry spokesman Matt Weaver says although there were a number of lightning strikes in the Upper Valley, none resulted in new wildfires. However, he said that 11 new fires started Wednesday in the Mat Su valley and were all human-caused. Those 11 fires have all been contained and extinguished. Weaver cautions all residents to be extremely careful while the burn suspension is in effect. Even though there has been some rain, fire danger is still extremely high.
He reports that the Eklutna fire is 10% contained. It was mapped Wednesday night and is now estimated at 1,700 acres. Rain in the area today is helping calm that fire. He says 117 people are working on that fire.
There are currently over 95 fires burning statewide. Residents in the upper valley may feel the effects of the smoke from those fires depending on wind speed and direction. The largest fire in the state is the Toklat fire, which is mapped at close to 114,000 acres and is burning north of Denali National Park and northwest of Healy. Thunderstorms and winds have not helped firefighting efforts on that fire.
There are over 900 personnel from the lower 48 working on Alaska wildfires. Alaska now has precedence as far as wildfires nationwide.
