Alaska Update: Wildfires, Plane Crash

Faced with 95 active wildfires and lightning bolts by the hundreds, Alaska wildfire officials Tuesday called fire activity for the month of May "unprecedented" and warned that the risk of more wildfires is high and that their resistance to control is nearing extreme.

Thirteen of the fires were staffed with 1,467, firefighters, including some 900 people from the Lower 48, while others were burning unchecked in what has to date been an uncommonly hot and dry Alaska spring.

The fire activity Tuesday prompted the National Interagency Coordination Center to elevate Alaska to Preparedness Level IV, topping every other region in the country.

According to the local NBC affiliate,

The Eklutna Lake fire is holding at 1,300 acres. The fire made a huge run Monday night when winds picked up, but Tuesday, light rain showers allowed fire crews to keep the fire at bay. No structures are threatened, but the East Fork Trail is closed and smoke is filtering into the Mat-Su Valley and Anchorage area.

Meanwhile, the state is focusing its attention on a fire burning 70 miles southwest of McGrath. Monday, the Turquoise Lake fire jumped to 57,000 acres.

Alaska's largest fire, the Toklat fire southwest of Nenana, is mapped at around 127,000 acres. The Gilles Creek fire, 27 miles northeast of Delta Junction, is more than 16,000 acres and has shut down mining at the pogo mine. The Eagle Trail fire in eastern Alaska has reached over 13,000 acres.

So far this year, 275 fires have burned more than 550 square miles in Alaska.

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Child killed, four injured when plane crashes into building

A plane crashed into an unoccupied building at the corner of 7th Avenue and Ingra Street in Anchorage on Tuesday, killing a child and critically injuring the other four people in the plane. Police say the plane was occupied by a family that owned a guiding lodge and a 16-year-old employee.

The weather here has been warmer than normal, with multiple days of highs in the mid-70s to near 80. The normal temp is 60, with lows in the mid-40s. We've been near 60 overnight for several days; today is closer to normal, and the weather service predicts near normal temps with rain showers over the weekend. That's good news for those battling the wildfires.