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The summer of 2004 has turned out to be one of the most active wildfire seasons since records have been started. As of July 20th, over 3.6 million acres have burned in nearly 470 fires. This has caused many headaches for residents and tourists alike.
Travelers on the Alaska Highway in the eastern portion of the state near the Canadian Border have had to contend with very low visibility due to smoke, frequent travel delays and some closures of the highway. The Taylor Complex, Eagle Complex and Chicken Complex fires have burned a combined total of 1.4 million acres since they were started between June 15th and 29th. The cause of all of the fires that make up these complexes is lightning and the Interior of Alaska has seen large numbers of lightning strikes, including a new one-day record of over 9,000 strikes on July 15.
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You can see the latest smoke conditions in Fairbanks from the ACRC Webcam
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| Residents of the Interior city of Fairbanks and the surrounding area have experienced nearly a month of smoke from nearby fires that have burned nearly 700,000 acres. For over two weeks after the Boundary and Wolf Creek Fires, located north of Fairbanks close to the Steese Highway were started by lightning, Fairbanksans watched the smoke plume rise into the sky. With a changing weather pattern after June 26th, the northerly winds brought the thick smoke and some ash into the city. For more than a week, Fairbanks experienced dense smoke that caused visibilities to drop under 1 mile, and often much lower. |
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In addition, the smoke caused breathing distress to residents and the city cautioned people to stay indoors and wear masks when venturing outside. Along the Steese and Elliot Highways, evacuations were ordered and the University of Alaska’s Poker Flat Rocket Range sustained some damage as the fire swept through.
The fire situation has been exacerbated by the weather which has been much warmer and drier than normal.
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click to enlarge
MODIS Satellite image of smoke over Interior Alaska
(From GINA)
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click to enlarge
Time series of visibility at Fairbanks
(From ACRC)
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Click here to see a current map of the Boundary and Wolf Creek fires. (courtesy of the Alaska Fire Service)
Click here to read the latest situation report for all fires in Alaska (courtesy of the Alaska Fire Service)
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| Questions or comments? Please contact us. |
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