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WILDFIRE UPDATE - Pogo Mine Road Fire (#191) & Mount Hayes Fire (#299)

Saturday - August 12, 2023

More Fire Crews arrive, drones fly to help map fires and locate hot spots.

Additional resources continue arriving to help with structure protection and completion of incident objectives that will safeguard values at risk in the event fire activity increases. A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place for both fires, so check NOTAMs if flying in the area.

Pogo Mine Road Fire (#191) – 47,136 acres | 46 personnel | 12 miles NW of Delta
Tanana Chiefs Conference fire crew returned to the fire and continued working to secure private property and infrastructure near the Pogo Mine Gate. The north and east portions of the fire are unstaffed and being monitored by aircraft. Firefighters are patrolling Shaw Creek by boat, ensuring structure protection equipment is functional. An Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) or drone module is searching for hotspots and helping to map the fire more accurately. A helicopter provided bucket work, dropping water on hotspots in the southwestern area near the pipeline and Quartz Lake.

Mount Hayes Fire (#299) – 7,085 acres | 66 personnel | 7 miles SE of Deltana
This fire is being managed for multiple objectives including using fire for habitat restoration in the Bison Fields area. Three cabins, on Donna, Little Donna, and Lisa lakes have been identified near the fire east of the Gerstle River. The Tongass Fire Suppression module will hike into these structures to assess protection needs. Control lines from Bison Fields to the Gerstle River are plumbed with a hoselay, completed, and ready for a firing operation or burnout when fuel conditions are receptive.

Weather: A thermal low pressure will remain in place and then move north of the fire this evening, causing strong southeast winds today along with isolated afternoon and evening thunderstorms. Expect mostly sunny skies then becoming mostly cloudy with max temperatures around 73 degrees and low relative humidity in the 40’s. East winds at 3-5 mph are forcasted for the morning increasing to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Fire Information: Phone number: 541-977-2756 / Fire Info website: AkFireInfo.com Facebook: AK.Forestry / Twitter: @AK_Forestry / YouTube: AlaskaDNRDOF