Crews put out wildfire near Lake Louise

WASILLA — A Division of Forestry helitack crew, eight Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers and four water-scooping Fire Boss airplanes rushed to aggressively attack a wildfire burning 17 miles east of Lake Louise in the Copper Basin area Thursday evening. The blaze was the second of the day in the area.

According to Beth Ipsen, a Fire Service public affairs specialist, a private aircraft reported the fire to the Tok Forestry Office at 5:35 p.m. Thursday. Despite plotting in a limited suppression area, fire managers decided a non-standard response was warranted because the fire was a half a mile from a full management area and within four miles of structures.

Ipsen said the Copper River Area “helitack crew” arrived on scene and reported the fire creeping through black spruce with some single tree torching observed. Air attack, jumpers and Fire Bosses arrived a short time later and began dumping water on the fire from nearby lakes and ponds. Meanwhile, firefighters put in a saw-line and a hose-lay to douse the flames with water. By the end of the night, the 2.7 acre blaze, named the First Hill Lake Fire was 70 percent contained with 100 percent containment late Friday night.

Earlier that morning, firefighters from Department of Forestry and local volunteer fire departments suppressed a small fire ignited by fireworks near the Copper River.

Meanwhile, emergency firefighters from the villages of Minto and Marshall continue to mop up the Chistochina River Fire, working in from the perimeter utilizing hose-lays with support from Gakona Volunteer Fire Department water tenders. Ipsen said the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.

Fire activity is predicted to moderate in the Copper River Basin after a week of very high fire danger that triggered DOF officials to implement burn suspensions, according to Ipsen. This weekend’s rain is expected to reduce the fire danger levels, officials stated.