Valley fire updates for the morning of August 23rd

According to the incident command teams, neither the McKinley or Deshka Landing Fires grew significantly since yesterday.

There will be a community meeting on the McKinley Fire at Willow Elementary School at 6:30 this evening.  Notifications for property owners in the fire zone are being made at the Menard Sports Complex and Upper Susitna Senior Center until 2:00 pm today, or later if needed.

Yesterday, firefighters and crews from Matanuska Electric Association did work on clearing fire-damaged trees in preparation to begin re-energizing power lines in the Caswell area.

While winds have been calm for the last few days, there is a weather system expected to move in this afternoon that will cause winds to pick up out of the north-northeast.  Winds are forecast to reach about fifteen miles per hour in the fire area.

Due to the increased wind potential, fire officials say there is potential for a “Level 2: Set” evacuation notice for areas south of the McKinley Fire later today.  A “Set” notice means area residents should be prepared to leave there homes within five minutes if necessary.  If the level 2 notice is given, a specific geographic area will be defined by fire officials.

More than a hundred firefighters are also battling the Deshka Landing Fire, about fifteen miles south of the McKinley Fire.  In an update this morning, fire officials say that more accurate mapping has led them to reduce the estimated area of the fire by 700 acres to 1,543 acres.  No structures have been lost in that fire, and officials say it is currently burning entirely on state-managed land.