Minto Lakes Fire Update

June 30, 2022 @ 10:00am The Northern Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Command Team, #3, is shadowing the Central Oregon Fire Management Type 3 Team, #2, today on the Minto Lakes Fire. The type 2 team brings with it the added capacity to logistically support the larger number of firefighting resources coming to the fire. Yesterday crews made significant progress on securing and assessing the allotments to the west of the fire. Along the Washington River corridor the fire continued to burn up river in available fuels on both sides of the drainage. Dozers and crews will be working to the northeast of the fire to secure dozer lines out ahead of the fire near the Hayes Creek and Himalaya Subdivisions. The head of the fire is still over eight miles from the subdivisions. The fire dropped down off of the ridgeline to the north of the Chatanika River yesterday. Crews worked their way into the fire area, continuing to assess and prepare the recreational structures in the area. As the fire is expected to continue to back its way down into the Chatanika Corridor, logistical support with more crews and equipment are being put in to place.  . At 2:00pm yesterday the fire acreage was mapped to be at a total of 20,250 acres. Firefighters continue to arrive and as of this morning there are 200 personnel assigned to the fire. The forecasted weather shows significant weather moving over the fire area Friday and possibly into Saturday. Bringing with it abundant lightening, winds and very little precipitation is expected. Multiple scoopers, two helicopters and air attack are available to firefighting resources as needed. Smoke in the fire area is constantly being monitored and the aviation resources are being used as clear sky’s allow. Evacuation levels continue to be monitored and discussed as the Minto Lake fire progression grows and the upcoming predicted weather may cause new fire starts. To ensure you are in the know for evacuation changes please see the below information. Evacuation and emergency shelter (when put in to place) information can be found at the Fairbanks North Star Borough website: https://www.fnsb.gov Receive FNSB Emergency Alerts via text message by texting: FNSBWildFire2022 to 67283 To learn more on Evacuation Levels: https://www.fnsb.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9917/2022-Wildland-Fire-Evacuation-Guidepdf Fairbanks North Star Borough Air Quality Information: www.fnsb.gov/aq Information on the Minto Lakes Fire can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8182/ Minto Lakes Fire Information: 2022.Mintolakes@firenet.gov    

  

FIRE CLOSURE ORDER – White Mountain National Recreation Area LIFTED

United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Order No. (AK020-22-002)

 

 

Minto Lakes Fire Update

June 29, 2022 @ 10:00am

Community Meeting tonight - Wednesday, June 29 at 7:00pm At the outdoor pavilion at the Ken Kunkle Community Center, 2645 Goldstream Road Firefighting crews, equipment and logistical support are continuing to be assigned and arriving at the Incident Command Post for the Minto Lakes Fire. This evening a Type 2 Incident Command Team will be arriving in Fairbanks to begin shadowing the current Type 3 Incident Command Team. The Type 2 team brings a larger organization that will have the capacity to support the logistics and tactics needed on the Minto Lakes Fire. Tuesday the Minto Lakes Fire continued to advance up the Washington Creek valley, fingering out and pushing up to the top of the ridgelines. The fire continues to burn in available timber and is working its way through the 2011 Hastings Fire burn scar. As of last night, the fire is estimated to be 14,200 acres. Air resources are looking forward to more opportunities of clear air to fly and support firefighters on the ground. Yesterday scoopers took advantage of clean air and were able to work the most southern end of the fire. As boats are available, the fire crews coming into the area will be transported up the Chatanika River Corridor to support preparing and assessing structures. To the northeast of the fire, west of the Elliott Highway, dozers will begin opening old dozer lines from past fire contingency lines. Fire managers continue to strategize and look for potential control lines out in front of the fire. The Central Oregon Type 3 Fire Management team is in close contact with partnering agencies and will continue to keep the community updated. Information on the Minto Lakes Fire can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8182/ Evacuation information can be found at the Fairbanks North Star Borough website: https://www.fnsb.gov Receive FNSB Emergency Alerts via text message by texting: FNSBWildFire2022 to 67283 To learn more on Evacuation Levels: https://www.fnsb.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9917/2022-Wildland-Fire-Evacuation-Guidepdf Fairbanks North Star Borough Air Quality Information: www.fnsb.gov/aq Minto Lakes Fire Information: 2022.Mintolakes@firenet.gov

 

 
Minto Lakes Fire - Evacuation Level Change Alert June 28

 FNSB Emergency Alert:

A Level 3 Evacuation is in effect for the following area(s):  Properties West of Shovel Creek within Chatanika River Valley. Evacuate NOW. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY!

Danger to your area is current or imminent, and you should evacuate immediately given the proximity of the fire to this area. There is limited access in and out of the area, and residents and visitors should evacuate immediately. If you choose to ignore this advisement, you must understand that emergency services may not be available to assist you further. DO NOT delay leaving to gather any belongings or make efforts to protect your structures. THIS WILL BE THE LAST ALERT THAT YOU RECEIVE. Entry to evacuated areas may be denied until conditions are safe.

NSB Emergency Alert:

 A Level 2 (SET) Evacuation is in effect for the following areas: properties East of Shovel Creek within the Chatanika River Valley to Elliot Highway including Hayes Creek Subdivision and Himilaya Subdivision. 

This means you must PREPARE TO LEAVE AT A MOMENT’S NOTICE ALERT. This level indicates that there is a significant danger in your area, and residents and visitors should either voluntarily relocate outside of the affected area, or if choosing to remain, be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

Please follow the link for up to date evacuation status at https://fnsb.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=096116a2bcf449f082a7960a9940487d
 
 

 

Minto Lakes Fire Update

June 28, 2022 @ 12:00

The Minto Lakes Fire is continuing to advance in a northeastern direction through the Washington River Valley. In preparation of the fire potentially moving toward the Chatanika River Corridor, firefighters continue to prepare and assess structures. To the northeast of the fire, off of the Elliott Highway, dozers will begin opening old dozer lines from past fire contingency lines. Fire managers continue to strategize and look for potential control lines out in front of the fire. As of last night, the fire is estimated to be 10,500 acres with growth being noted both in the Washington River drainage and on the southeast side of the fires edge, toward the end of Murphy Dome Road and boat launch.   The Central Oregon Type 3 Fire Management team is in close contact with partnering agencies and will continue to keep the community updated. A type 1 or 2 team has been requested to take over the growing fire later in the week. A community meeting is being  planned for Wednesday, June 29 at 7:00pm. The location will be posted as soon as it is confirmed. Information on the Minto Lakes Fire can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8182/ Evacuation information can be found at the Fairbanks North Star Borough website: https://www.fnsb.gov Receive FNSB Emergency Alerts via text message by texting: FNSBWildFire2022 to 67283 To learn more on Evacuation Levels: https://www.fnsb.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9917/2022-Wildland-Fire-Evacuation-Guidepdf Fairbanks North Star Borough Air Quality Information: www.fnsb.gov/aq Minto Lakes Fire Information: 2022.Mintolakes@firenet.gov

 Minto Lakes Fire Update EditBY MINTOLAKES2022 on JUNE 27, 2022

With warm dry conditions persisting over the fire area, the Minto Lakes Fire continues to push in a northeastern direction. The fire is estimated to be 10,300 acres with most of the growth on the northeast front of the fire. The forecasted weather shows temperatures to remain in the high 70’s to low 80’s, with light winds from the southwest. These conditions are expected to continue to push the fire to the northeast, with some fire continuing to back on the south end of the fire perimeter.

The Central Oregon Type 3 Fire Management team is in place, with more resource’s ordered from Oregon, Colorado, California and Wyoming. Today fire personnel assessed structure protection needs along the Chatanika River Corridor. Due to poor air quality, air resources were unable to fly the fire today.

Minto Lakes Fire 6/26/2022 @2000

Minto Lakes Fire Information: 2022.Mintolakes@firenet.gov

 Minto Lakes Fire – Evacuation Level Change EditBY MINTOLAKES2022 on JUNE 26, 2022

The Minto Lakes Fire Incident Command in partnership with the Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Operations have recommended the Emergency Evacuation Level for all residents and visitors west of Shovel Creek along the Chatanika River Valley, be changed to a Level 2 – Be Set; and North of the Chatanika River and West of the boat launch are now at Level 3 – “Go”. This decision is due to the limited access in to and out of the area. Given the proximity of the fire to this area, if there was a drastic change in current and expected direction, residents and visitors need to be prepared. 

To sign up for Emergency Alerts, please visit:  https://www.fnsb.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9918/RAVE-SignUp-Notificationspd

Sign Up for RAVE AlertsSign Up for RAVE Alerts fnsb.gov/RaveAlerts The RAVE Alert system provides text, email, and voice alerts to Borough residents in the event of emergencies.www.fnsb.gov

To learn more on Evacuation Levels, please visit:  https://www.fnsb.gov/DocumentCenter/View/9917/2022-Wildland-Fire-Evacuation-Guidepdf

2022 FNSB Wildland Fire Emergency Evacuation Guide The Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Operations Department assumes no liability for the use or misuse of this information, which is intended to provide fire safety and emergency guidelines for residents.www.fnsb.gov

 Minto Lakes Fire more than doubles in sizeBY ALASKA DIVISION OF FORESTRY on JUNE 24, 2022

The Minto Lakes Fire (#349) grew more than 4,000 acres overnight and is now estimated to be 6,000 acres. The June 21st lightning caused fire is burning between Washington Creek and Chatanika River, two miles north of the Murphy Dome Road boat launch. Two Alaska Division of Forestry engines are at the boat launch supporting firefighters conducting structure assessments along the river corridor, creating supply lists for structure protection operations.

Trees torch Thursday afternoon, June 23, 2022, on the Minto Lakes Fire (#349). The fire continued to active through the night, growing over 4,000 acres to an estimated 6,000 acres on Thursday. Tyler Nasti/Alaska Division of Forestry

The most active portion of the fire is on the eastern flank where southerly winds today are pushing it towards Washington Creek. Cabins closest to the fire along the Chatanika River are the priority followed by those along Washington Creek. Firefighters will be cutting out helispots the next couple of days to support cabin protection efforts. A Central Oregon Type 3 Incident Management Team has been ordered to oversee the operation.

 Fire Fact Sheet

BLM, Arizona Strip District Media Contact: Rachel Carnahan rcarnahan@blm.gov 435-688-3303 June 28, 2022   

Wildfire Fact Sheet – Antelope Valley Fire

 

Update: Today’s weather forecast for the Antelope Valley Fire area: partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon with temperatures up to 92 degrees. Winds will be gusty and erratic in the afternoon due to thunderstorms.   Start Date: Sunday, June 26, 2022   Location:  Mt. Trumbull area and the BLM109 road.   Jurisdiction: Arizona Strip Field Office, Bureau of Land Management   Fire Size: Mapped at 102 acres    Cause: Lightning    Fuels: Grass, Brush, Pinyon and Juniper   Structures: No structures threatened.   Fire Crews/Resources: BLM fire crews are currently on scene including 3 engines and 1 water tender. Resources will continue to strengthen containment lines today. The fire will be moving into mop up status.   Containment: 50%  

Temporary Fire Area Closure: No closures.

Fire managers are asking for the public’s assistance by avoiding the area to allow crews and resources to access and mitigate the fire.   For more information on the Antelope Valley Fire please visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov. Updates will also be provided via Twitter at https://twitter.com/BLMAZFire.  

For more information, please contact the Arizona Strip Field Office at 435-688-3200.

 

-BLM-

 

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., July 5, 2022– A soil analysis conducted within the perimeter of the recent Haywire Fire has revealed the extent of soil burn severity caused by the fire.

Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) specialists recently completed their field data evaluation to produce the soil burn severity (SBS) map for the Haywire Fire, which delineates unburned, low, moderate and high SBS categories. The BAER team determined that approximately 474 acres (8%) of the fire’s footprint is unburned, approximately 4,512 acres (81%) have low soil burn severity, approximately 561 acres (10%) sustained a moderate SBS and approximately 53 acres (1%) were identified as having high SBS. The SBS map product is an estimate of fire effects to soils both surface-level and below ground, not fire effects to vegetation. Fire effects to vegetation would include an estimate of vegetation mortality and does not always correlate with degree of soil burn severity. Moderate and high soil burn severity can alter or damage physical, chemical and biological soil properties, such as hydrophobicity (water repellency), soil organic matter content, soil pore space, soil cover (effective litter), and soil structure (degree of aggregation). This damage can result in increased runoff, a heightened risk of monsoonal rain damage, erosion and negative effects to soil productivity. Changes to these soil properties determine the degree of soil burn severity. Water repellency often occurs naturally in soils, and it changes as a function of fire. It is frequently discussed as a post-fire effect. Fire can increase the strength and thickness (or depth) of water repellent layers in soil, considerably affecting post-fire water runoff and possibly extending time for recovery of the burned area. The Haywire Fire BAER team used remote sensing imagery with field-validated soils data to produce the final SBS map. The BAER team will use the SBS map as an analysis tool to estimate post-fire erosion with subsequent sediment delivery, stream flows and debris flow probabilities. The map is also being shared with cooperating agencies.

The Haywire Fire soil burn severity map can be downloaded from the Haywire Fire BAER InciWeb site as a JPEG or PDF version under the Maps tab.

The BAER team that conducted the SBS analysis of the Haywire Fire recently concluded similar field data collection and evaluation on the nearby Pipeline Fire. As a reminder, the Coconino National Forest has instituted a forest closure order for areas affected by both the Pipeline and Haywire fires.

BAER SAFETY MESSAGE: Everyone near and downstream from the burned areas should remain alert and stay updated on weather conditions that may result in heavy rains and increased water runoff. Flash flooding may occur quickly during heavy rain events-be prepared to act. Current weather and emergency notifications can be found at the National Weather Service website: https://www.weather.gov/fgz/. Additionally, the Flagstaff Alert Data Display website contains near real-time data of rain gauges in the area of Flagstaff.