ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)-The largest documented bushfire on the tundra in southwest Alaska occurred within a mile of two Alaska native villages, prompting officials Friday to urge residents to prepare for possible evacuation.
This is after dozens of elderly and residents with health problems were voluntarily evacuated due to smoke from a nearby fire.
Officials on Friday put in the communities of St. Mary and Pitka Point are in a “ready” state, which means residents must collect valuables to take with them in the event of an evacuation, said Beth Ipsen, a spokeswoman for the fire department. ‘Alaska. In the text. The “set up” follows, i.e., the bag preparation and the exit, if the “go” command is given.
The fire engulfed dry grasses, alder and willow shrubs in much of the rough tundra, as waves of up to 30 mph (48.28 km / h) ignited in the general direction of St. Louis. Mary at Pitka Point, Yufik community. The total population is approximately 700 people and they are approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers) from each other.
About 65 firefighters are fighting the blaze, with 40 more expected on Friday, Ipsen said earlier by phone.
The fire has not grown much since Thursday and is estimated at 78 square miles (202 square kilometers). The wind from the north carried the fire 5 miles (8 kilometers) from St. Louis. Mary’s, officials said in an update Friday.
Ipsen said he was unaware of the missing structures.
Crews cleaned brush and other fuel from the plot on the fire trail and launched tankers between the delay line and St. Louis. Mary’s as another buffer. Other planes poured water on the fire until a second fire broke out north of a nearby community, Mountain Village.
Climate change has played a part in this historic fire, says Rick Thoman, a climate specialist at the Fairbanks International Center for Arctic Studies of the University of Alaska.
According to Alaska fire department documents dating back to the 1940s, it was the largest documented fire in the lower Yukon River Valley. Larger fires have been reported only 50 or 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of St. Louis. Mary’s, but they burned in the Borrell forest.
The area where the tundra fires burn, the Yukon-Cuscoquim Delta, lost a layer of snow earlier this year, leaving grass and other vegetation to dry longer. In the hottest weather recorded in the region in recent seasons, it provided a very good storm for this fire, which started with lightning on May 31st.
“Climate change did not cause the storms that caused this fire, but it increased the likelihood that atmospheric conditions would be acceptable,” he said.
The Alaska Southwest Center Bethel, about 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) southeast of St. Mary’s, is the nearest long -term weather station.
In the last week of May and the first week of June, Bethel had the hottest temperature this year, from 9 degrees F (12.78 degrees C) to the normal 48 degrees F (8.89 degrees C), Thoman said.
About 80 village elders and other health problems were transferred to the Alaska National Guard at Bethel Thursday, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Two off-road airlines in western Alaska carried passengers to Bethel.
One was Yute Commuter Services, which operated 12 flights from St. Louis. Mary in its six -seat aircraft, said Andrew Flagg, the company’s station manager at Bethel.
On Friday, he said he asked them to bring drinking water to the community so it could be given to firefighters.
The St. Mary and Pitcas Point, located at the confluence of the Andreapski and Yukon Rivers, is approximately 450 miles (724 km) west of Anchorage.
Source: Huffpost
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