Alaska Fires and smoke

For anyone planning a trip to Alaska in the near future, be aware that there are major fires in Alaska and the Yukon Territory. In Alaska, we now have 2.69 million acres burning, with several fires covering 1/2 million acres each. There is dense smoke from the north side of the Alaska range through the interior to the Brooks Range. A fire that started three days ago north of Fairbanks has taken two cabins and one house so far. There are 80 active fires in the state, 496 fires have started. It is the driest and warmest summer on record in the interior; there has been no rain in the interior this summer.

 

Sean, if you want to get a sense of the fires, go to http://fire.ak.blm.gov/, and select the most current "situation report". For a map, select: maps, imagery, geospatial>statewide fires

 

Fortunately where our house is in the Alaska range, we are in a rain/snow shadow of some of the highest mountains of the range. This belt only extends from a few miles north of us to about 40 miles south of us. While our lakes are low, we've had enough rain to keep the ground from being so dry. It's also cooler where we are, with more cloudy days. In the winter, we're considerably warmer than the communities north of us, and while Cantwell, 24 miles north will have -60F and little snow, we'll be a balmy -25F with 10 feet of snow on the ground.