At least two wildfires happening in Alaska today (5/19/2014)

www.ktuu.com...

Some scary looking pics of the smoke from various parts around town at that link.

Last I read fire is still 0%contained and spreading.

Tuesday update: Funny River Horse Trail fire grows to 7,000 acres
Posted: May 20, 2014 - 3:02pm
Clarion staff report
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire has spread to 7,000 acres and moved to the west and east along the shores of Tustumena Lake.

Andy Alexandrou, public information officer for the state Division of Forestry Kenai office, said fire crews have set up a flank point and concentrated efforts on keeping the fire from advancing past the western edge of Fox Lake. He said 40 firefighters from the Chena Interagency Hotshots and Gannett Glacier Fire Crew out of Palmer are on scene with more crews expected later in the day. Crews worked to midnight last night and started up again at 6 a.m., he said.

“We are bulking up with six more crews to give the local guys a break from the fire and concentrate on initial attack fires,” Alexandrou said. “The last thing we want is to have injuries due to fatigue. We will gladly receive reinforcements with open arms.”
Earlier Tuesday, Alexandrou told the Clarion that the fire was likely human-caused, though it is unclear exactly how it started, he said.

"It could have been a campfire, or an exhaust system from a recreational vehicle, we don't know," he said.

Yikes, I've been to that Fred Meyer!

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
Yikes, I've been to that Fred Meyer!

Kind of surreal huh? At the moment I'm about a football field away from where Pics #26- #28 were taken.

A place where I like to sit and relax/meditate/ during my lunch breaks.

Improperly extinguished campfire. Well there ya have it....bummer, that easy, though I do wonder how that can be confirmed?....anyway, on a positive note it sounds like the crews might be making some progress.

www.dailyjournal.net...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Authorities say a campfire that wasn't properly extinguished was the cause of wildfire burning near Soldotna.

A crew burned a fire line between the fire and village, which officials called a successful operation.

short video clip and some more recent info here:

www.ktva.com...

a reply to: GoShredAK
Here is a view of the cloud from my front porch. It is keeping my attention.
We may even end up being an evacuation point for some friends.



I'm happy to see that they are making progress in the Tyonek fire. Last I heard though, the Funny River fire is 0% contained. They are taking people's livestock at the rodeo grounds because some people are leaving Kasilof voluntarily. This is playing out so much like the Big Lake fire in 1996 ( I think) that's its spooky. It was even the last day of school when that one started.

a reply to: woodsmom

This is playing out so much like the Big Lake fire in 1996 ( I think) that's its spooky. It was even the last day of school when that one started

That is freaky I wonder if the weather in 1996 was just like this.......I was ten and had just moved to AK lol.

Thanks for imbedding a pic to the thread btw, though I know that must look quite ominous for you,........

By the looks of the smoke this thing is very much 0% contained....Geez, I have never seen anything like this before. (I was in Juneau when redoubt last erupted) so this is the craziest thing I've seen here.

a reply to: GoShredAK

It did actually start out hot and dry that year too. And it's always windy in the valley, so it jumped all over the place. It actually burned underground for several miles in some places and reemerged in random places. I was a sophomore in high school that year, we were having a party in a near by cul-de-sac for the end of the school year. I will never forget the heat of the wind from the fire on my face during the four wheeler ride home. We were evacuated that next morning and I ended up right back at the high school helping out the evacuees.

We are lucky so far that no homes have been threatened. So many people lost their homes in '96, it was so sad. Some friends of mine spent that next winter in a portable military Quonset hut.

I would rather have Redoubt go off again honestly. I had to put some panty hose on some air intakes and filters and stay inside a bit more and that was it.

No worries about the photo. I will post more if the view changes much, though I hope it doesn't.

It's remarkably calm out right now. No wind, anyone else noticing this or is it just in my area?

Mabye this is the break we need? I hope so.

Eta:

Nevermind, it's calm here but the horizon looks freakin apocalyptic. I was just trying to be positive.

a reply to: woodsmom

And it's always windy in the valley

Ain't that the truth! I worked for the railroad for a couple years, during that time I lived in Palmer, down buffalo mine road. Both years I lived there the wind got really intense. I thought our big windows were going to implode.

During the winter I remember having to be on the lookout for random massive snow drfts across the highway......crazy Alaskan weather...

That's a big ball of smoke so lots of fuel there. I don't see any rain in the immediate forecast either.

9:17 pm, light blanket of smoke haze overhead, air smells like woodsmoke, and everything looks like I'm wearing polarized shades...

I woke up this morning to a smoke haze that descended on the peninsula last night. The sun is blood red through the smoke and here is ash falling like an intermittent snow. I will try to get pictures of the sun when it comes out from behind the trees.

As of last night there were 20,000 acres burning. There have been no evacuations yet, but they are discussing it. There are about 10 cabins along the lake that are threatened and it has moved closer to the Bear Creek subdivision according to radiokenai.net.

radiokenai.net...


Here's a graphic from the Anchorage Daily News showing the boundaries of both fires.

The Tyonek fire has turned and headed toward the nearby community of Beluga, at the last update crews were trying to get that flank under control. The fire was within two miles of the town.

Here is another good link to information.

akfireinfo.com...

a reply to: Dianec

The entire Kenai peninsula is a tinder box. It has enough fuel to run a long way.
We aren't supposed to get rain until a week from Thursday according to my forecast.
We could use it now. The wind died and it did cool off considerably, which helps firefighters, but is making it tough to breathe since the smoke blanketed us. It was easier to watch the progression of the fire when the column was visible. I know the lack of wind is good, but it makes me nervous too, it's still only about 5 miles from my house and there is nothing to push it the other way anymore. I really hope it doesn't start spreading this way, or into town center.

Hopefully I will learn more soon. I have to go to the doctor today, and we are going to take a case of water to the firefighters and some food for the Tyonek folks. They were evacuated so fast they didn't grab anything to eat. Wish us luck!

a reply to: woodsmom

Ya this is getting bad, lots of smoke, Its blocking out the sun for a lot of us.

You ok woodsmom? I know of a few people voluntarily evacuating from the funny river area.

Sounds like we've exceeded 20,000 acres...

-- The Alaska Division of Forestry at 1 p.m. Wednesday reports the Funny River fire is "definitely more than 20,000 acres," but an exact estimate is not possible due to inversion that pushed smoke low on the horizon. The fire is still burning east and west along the shore of Tustumena Lake. It is about a mile wide but broadens at the lake shore and was nearly 10 miles long at the last aerial estimate late Tuesday.

www.ktuu.com...

a reply to: GoShredAK

I am! Sorry, I actually forgot to post any more updates here today.

The fire came pretty close to funny river road this morning. They kept it from crossing over. They have since closed the road to everyone but property owners and responders. My house was engulfed in smoke this morning, that has since lifted and continues to shift around. It's over my house again, but much higher up.

I was just at forestry and they have had people from Hawaii and California show up to back up our responders. They were obviously busy, but I was told that the fire has headed back into the Shanta creek (?) burn area from a few years ago, '09 I think. So that's good news! They need all the help they can get. I'm grateful that they have been out there busting their butts for the last couple of days. You may not see much from me over the next few days, but we will be fine. I will try and hop back on and update on this thread when I get a chance.

Here's a couple of the most current photos of the smoke from my place.

originally posted by: woodsmom
a reply to: GoShredAK

I am! Sorry, I actually forgot to post any more updates here today.

The fire came pretty close to funny river road this morning. They kept it from crossing over. They have since closed the road to everyone but property owners and responders. My house was engulfed in smoke this morning, that has since lifted and continues to shift around. It's over my house again, but much higher up.

I was just at forestry and they have had people from Hawaii and California show up to back up our responders. They were obviously busy, but I was told that the fire has headed back into the Shanta creek (?) burn area from a few years ago, '09 I think. So that's good news! They need all the help they can get. I'm grateful that's they have been out there busting their butts for the last couple of days. You may not see much from me over the next few days, but we will be fine. I will try and hop back on and update on this thread when I get a chance.

Here's a couple of the most current photos of the smoke from my place.

Glad to hear from you, and thanks for the updates and pictures!

a reply to: GoShredAK

No problems!!
It's worth keeping an eye on, it's coming closer to people on most of its fronts.
I hope everyone out there stays safe and attentive on our first big weekend back outside for the year.
Have a good weekend!

8:01 pm: 44,000 acres and growing.......

We are completely covered overhead by smoke at this point....planes and helicopters coming and going.....

The sun is completely blocked out, everything is a color I've never seen before.

I think people are still ok, but if the wind shifts too much we may be breathing a lot of smoke.

www.alaskadispatch.com...

Here's a link to a slideshow of the Funny River wildfire.

I also want to just throw a deep heartfelt thanks out to all of the firefighters and hot shot crews out there keeping us all safe, here in my back yard and all over the world. You folks are an amazing bunch of people.