Single Publication

Highlights: This will be the FINAL daily update for the Middle Tanana Complex unless notable activity occurs. Any future updates will be made available on AK Fire Info and the Alaska DNR Facebook page.

On behalf of Incident Commander Josh Bransford and the Northern Rockies Type 3 team, we would like to thank the communities for their ongoing support and patience. The relationships made between each Incident Management Team (IMT), the community, and cooperating partners is invaluable to our operations and have made the efforts on this incident a success.

Operations: As of Monday, all fires within the Middle Tanana Complex are unstaffed with firefighters stagging at the Incident Command Post (ICP) in Delta Junction. Crews conducted a ground reconnaissance east of Big Delta to monitor the smoke activity on the South Fork Fire. Reconnaissance flights will take place today, Tuesday, to make assessments on structures near the Porcupine Fire and to monitor fire activity on the South Fork Fire. The IMT is currently building a plan in preparation for backhaul operations. Backhaul includes the removal of hose, pumps, sprinklers and any other equipment used to support crews during fire suppression efforts. These operations will not take place until the fire area has received a significant amount of rain to breach the permafrost and be considered a season ending event.

With the decrease in fire activity, a portion of resources are being released. This reduction in resources assigned to the complex will continue over the upcoming days with the exception of select crews and miscellaneous overhead remaining on site to respond as needed.

Evacuations: Current evacuations in place are for a READY status only. This covers residents and cabins throughout the following areas: Salcha, Goodpaster, Shaw Creek, Central Creek and the Pogo Mine area. For the most up to date information, visit https://tinyurl.com/FNSBEvacMap for details about evacuations within the North Star Borough.

Weather: Forecasted weather should bring temperatures cooler than the average, reaching into the low 60s. Winds will be light with gusts up to 10 mph. Expect to see scattered showers in the area.

Smoke: Minimal smoke is visible on the Yukon Creek and South Fork Fires. This activity should decrease as more precipitation is received across the area. Visit https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/fba6a113 to view the FINAL Smoke Outlook for Interior Alaska for July 19-20th.

Fire Information:
Fire Information Office Hours: 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM Phone: 907.921.2548 | Email: 2022.middletanana@firenet.gov
Alaska Interagency Joint Information Center: 907.356.5511
Online: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/8201/| https://www.facebook.com/AK.Forestry/| akfireinfo.com/