Wildfire Update

The winds shifted earlier this morning, and smoke from the wildfire (about a mile south of Anchorage) is now drifting across the Anchorage landscape. It's smokier on the ground than this photo makes it look.

We were getting occasional whiffs of the smell at home this morning, which a half-hour drive from here.

But there's good news: it started to sprinkle as I left home, and was a full-blown rain by the time I reached work. AccuHunch guesses we'll get nearly a half-inch of rain every day for the next week or so.

The fire has grown to some 845 acres as of this morning, but slowly. It's not advancing in any particular direction, they say, but merely expanding.

Everyone is going to be very, VERY glad about the rain, because the firefighters can't get to the fire. Why? Glad you asked - THIS is why:

Firefighters up against steep terrain, heavy wind in wildfire near South Anchorage

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) A large wildfire is burning uncomfortably close to two residential areas at the edge of Alaska's largest city, and emergency officials in a Tuesday evening news conference say heavy winds and steep terrain are complicating firefighting efforts.

What sparked the human-caused blaze overnight Saturday near McHugh Creek is unknown, but the fire is now estimated at 350 acres, slightly less than a previous Division of Forestry estimate that was slightly exaggerated due to thick smoke. Approximately 1.1 mile from the fire's southwestern boundary is the 17-home Rainbow Subdivision, and 1.3 miles from the northern boundary is Potter Valley, the beginning of the densely populated South Anchorage hillside.

"Zero containment," Tom Kurth, leading an inter-agency team battling the blaze, said of the fire's status to media late Tuesday. "If we get winds blowing up through that area again, we're liable to have a new perimeter by morning."

By Wednesday morning, a couple hundred firefighters are expected to be on scene, including five hotshot crews. Also contributing to the growing logistical challenge are dozens of specialists from the state Department of Transportation, Division of Forestry, Anchorage Fire Department, Anchorage Police Department, Alaska State Troopers, and Alaska National Guard.

Chugach State Park trails are closed, and all day long, traffic screeched to a halt on Seward Highway, the lone road connecting Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula communities. Traffic began to flow in both directions at 9 p.m., but traffic delays should be expected indefinitely. Kurth says there is fire activity at the edge of the road in the area around milepost 111, and drivers should beware of rocky debris spilling from the craggy hillsides.

Good news may be on the horizon later this week, with heavy rain forecast as very likely throughout the day Thursday.

But for now, bad news is the focus: heavy westerly winds are expected throughout the evening, potentially pushing the fire's boundary increasingly close to Rainbow Subdivision, a small community that sits along a dirt road and is composed of 17 homes, as well as tough terrain.

"This is very steep, rugged country, about 45 percent slopes up there," Kurth said, adding that fires like this typically grow uphill, and this one is acting as expected. "The first area that would be threatened would be in the Rainbow area ... so that is where the structure protection is taking place."

McHugh Creek Fire Now Threatens South Anchorage

As crews work to protect the Rainbow subdivision, the McHugh fire has ballooned to 500 to 600 acres with more firefighting crews on the way, the Division of Forestry says. 

Two air tankers, multiple helicopters and more than 50 firefighters are battling the blaze, said Division of Forestry spokeswoman Sarah Saarloos. Additional “hotshot” crews are expected and Blackhawk helicopters will likely be staged out of Girdwood with a firefighting command center in South Anchorage.

Crews are working to protect homes in the nearby 17-home Rainbow subdivision, Forestry and Anchorage Fire Department officials are telling KTUU. The flames have advanced about a mile northwest toward Anchorage with the main head of the fire still moving south, according to interviews with Forestry spokeswoman spokesman Lori Wiertsema and AFD Assistant Chief Alex Boyd.

Read the rest here.

Now I'm really glad we moved. Our prayers go out to those living in the area, as well as the firefighters and emergency workers involved.