Single Publication

Size: 72,171 acres                                                                                                     Location: 6 miles west of Anderson, Alaska
Completion: 56%                                                                                                     Personnel: 494
Start Date: June 21, 2022                                                                                     Cause: Natural, Lightning
Fuels: A mix of tundra, brush, hardwood, and black spruce                                      

Summary: Suppression efforts continue on the Clear Fire, with firefighters performing actions that minimize potential impacts to structures, infrastructure, and other values. In some areas, the focus has shifted to mop-up, backhaul, and suppression repair. Firefighters are coordinating with incident Resource Advisors regarding needs on private lands, roads, and Native allotments. Fire suppression repair is a series of immediate post-fire actions to repair damages caused by firefighting actions and minimize potential soil erosion.   

Weather: Today should be mostly cloudy in the morning and partly cloudy in the afternoon with some sunny breaks and temperature highs of 67F. There is no rainfall expected. Minimum humidity is 43%. Winds should be from the south at 7-10 mph through noon, then turning south to southeast and increasing to 15-20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. Cloudy and cool conditions are expected to persist through the coming week with periods of light rain and high relative humidity.  

Crews have completed backhaul in most of the Kobe Ag Subdivision. They are utilizing infrared technology to look for areas of heat and have found very little. This section of the fire is moving into a suppression repair stage with continued patrol and mop-up as needed. South of Kobe Ag, crews are improving and monitoring handline that extends southwest from Camp Challenge. 

Firefighters continue improving access to structures on the south end of the fire. They are utilizing heavy duty vehicles such as Fat Trucks to get to this part of the fire. Fat Trucks are industrial, off-road utility vehicles capable of traversing various types of difficult terrain. In order to protect the cluster of structures in this area, firefighters plan to construct over three miles of direct fireline along this south edge. Once firefighters are established in this section, they will implement fire suppression actions around structures and assess further needs for fireline construction commensurate with the fuels and expected fire behavior.

Towards the southern end of the fire’s west side, firefighters discovered some heat in a string of black spruce trees near the Teklanika River. A suitable area was located to land a helicopter, and a crew was inserted into this part of the fire yesterday to cut a fuel break and limit fire spread. The crew discovered significant dead, down, heavy fuels in the area, so this task may take another day or two to comp lete.

On the north end of the fire, boats and helicopters are assisting with logistical needs such as removing hoses and supplies and transporting firefighters. A significant amount of backhaul was completed in this area yesterday, and crews will continue this task today. Firefighters are still constructing saw line in this area of the fire and are patrolling to check for any heat. Crews found a small amount of heat in the northeast perimeter, but overall heat is very minimal in this section. 

The Structure Group is working on various areas of the fire. Firefighters are checking for heat around houses in Kobe Ag, assisting with backhaul, and helping to refine structure protection plans for Anderson.

Sheltering & Evacuations: Contact the Denali Borough at (907) 683-1330, visit denaliborough.org or follow www.facebook.com/denali.borough  Fire Loss & Suppression Repair: Contact the Denali Borough at (907) 683-1330 Other Fire Information: Alaska Fire Information, (907) 356-5511; akfireinfo.com, and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AK.Forestry and www.facebook.com/BLMAFS