Sockeye and Montana Creek fire updates

By Anne Hillman – APRN, Phillip Manning – KTNA

Montana Creek Fires:

Celeste Prescott, Public Information Officer at the command center, says that they are “under control.” Note that does not mean they are “out.” It means that the crews on the ground feel like they are not likely to flare up at this time.

Sockeye Fire:

The Sockeye Fire did not grow on Tuesday, and firefighters are reporting
“really good progress” on containing the northern portion. Low winds kept
the size steady, but people are still not allowed back to their homes.

“Wind is like the wheels of the fire,” explained Alaska Incident Management
Team Information Officer Sarah Saarloos. “You have to have wind to have
fire growth.”

The fire is pretty static with no aggressive runs or crowning and no
substantial acreage growth. They hope to have containment within a day or
so. It is currently zero percent contained.

About 300 firefighters are on the ground trying to stop the Sockeye Fire,
and they have air resources. Saarloos said the incident management should
have all of the resources they need by Thursday, unless crews are diverted
to fight other fires in the state.

Saarloos said tonight’s storms did not bring much rain, but they brought
lightning strikes to the area north of the Sockeye Fire. Firefighters
aggressively attacked them to prevent their growth.

The evacuation order remains in place because of high levels of heat in the
interior of the fire. They are trying to secure areas to allow people back
in. The Parks Highway is open to traffic, though vehicles must be led
through the area with a pilot car. There is not much smoke in the area at
this time.

Incident responders are concerned about the long-term weather forecast – no
rain in sight for the next five to ten days.