Alaska Department of Natural Resources – Alaska surpassed 2 million acres burned on Saturday, July 2, matching the earliest date for this milestone in the past 20 years.
While this doesn’t guarantee a record fire season this year, it does illustrate how dry conditions are across the state. It’s also an indicator of how busy firefighters have been so far this season with several months still left to go.
With over 10,000 lightning strikes in Alaska July 3rd, Alaska DNR reports fire activity has begun to increase across the state with numerous new fire starts in the 24 hour period. There are currently 961 fire personnel assigned and 8 incident management teams supporting the firefighters on the ground.
4 additional hotshot crews from Southern California (Arroyo Grande, Texas Canyon, Crane Valley and Fulton) will arrive in Fairbanks today to support the firefighting efforts. These crews will replace the hotshots from the Pacific Northwest that have spent the past 21 days in Alaska and who are heading home for some much needed and well deserved rest and relaxation.