Delaware News

Update on Delaware wildfire crew in Alaska

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Date Posted: Tuesday, July 9, 2013



July 9, 2013: Update on the crew of 20 Delaware wildland firefighters in Alaska


The crew of 20 firefighters from Delaware are now part of over 730 personnel assigned to the Stuart Creek 2 Fire – a wildfire located about 25 miles east of the town of North Pole, Alaska which has grown to 82,274 acres and is now 15 percent contained.


According to the Eastern Area Coordination Center daily report:

“The crew is still in staging at the “Tirebase” spike camp. The crew from Delaware will join up with a crew from Maryland and possibly move to a new spike camp. The crews will focus on structure protection at the north end of the fire. Morale is high. Daytime temperatures have been in the seventies with nighttime temperatures in the fifties. Precipitation is forecasted for this evening with wind gusts at eighteen to twenty miles per hour.”

Photo of a Delaware crew member from the Fairbanks Daily “News-Miner” website.

Jon Stave of Newark in the Fairbanks Newsminer
Firefighter Jon Stave, of Newark, Del., pulls the rain fly over his tent as crews from Monangahela National Forest, W. Va., set up camp Monday evening, July 8, 2013, at the Pleasant Valley ball fields. (Photo credit: Sam Harrel/News-Miner)

Please credit photo to: Sam Harrel/News-Miner

Caption: Stuart Creek 2 Fire

Firefighter Jon Stave, of Newark, Del., pulls the rain fly over his tent as crews from Monangahela National Forest, W. Va., set up camp Monday evening, July 8, 2013, at the Pleasant Valley ball fields.

Current Situation

Total Personnel

734

Size

82,274 acres

Percent Contained

15%

Fire Behavior

Fire activity subsided with cool temperatures and light rain over the fire. Minimal spread is anticipated today.

Planned Actions

Significant progress was made in direct hand and doze line construction as weather moderated fire behavior. The current weather is providing the opportunity to aggressively attack the fire with direct fire line construction on the fire’s edge.

Growth Potential

Moderate

Terrain Difficulty

Extreme

Remarks

The wet weather pattern is expected to continue to around noon on Wednesday. However, a potential Red Flag weather pattern with high temperatures, very low humidity and strong northeast wind is forecast to begin Thursday and last into the weekend.

Current Weather

Temperature

 65 degrees

Humidity

50%

 

Regarding the cause of the fire, the Anchorage Daily News reported today:

“While residents praised the firefighters, some had harsher words for the U.S. Army, which started the blaze on June 25 during an artillery exercise.

Kent Slaughter, the Alaska Fire Service manager for the Bureau of Land Management, said the BLM had advised the Army not to conduct training that day. The fire, Slaughter added, may lead BLM to re-evaluate how the agency authorizes the Army to conduct live-fire training.

Alexander said community attitudes toward the Army were mixed, with some residents angry, and others who felt that the exercises were a forgivable mishap.”

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Update on Delaware wildfire crew in Alaska

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | Date Posted: Tuesday, July 9, 2013



July 9, 2013: Update on the crew of 20 Delaware wildland firefighters in Alaska


The crew of 20 firefighters from Delaware are now part of over 730 personnel assigned to the Stuart Creek 2 Fire – a wildfire located about 25 miles east of the town of North Pole, Alaska which has grown to 82,274 acres and is now 15 percent contained.


According to the Eastern Area Coordination Center daily report:

“The crew is still in staging at the “Tirebase” spike camp. The crew from Delaware will join up with a crew from Maryland and possibly move to a new spike camp. The crews will focus on structure protection at the north end of the fire. Morale is high. Daytime temperatures have been in the seventies with nighttime temperatures in the fifties. Precipitation is forecasted for this evening with wind gusts at eighteen to twenty miles per hour.”

Photo of a Delaware crew member from the Fairbanks Daily “News-Miner” website.

Jon Stave of Newark in the Fairbanks Newsminer
Firefighter Jon Stave, of Newark, Del., pulls the rain fly over his tent as crews from Monangahela National Forest, W. Va., set up camp Monday evening, July 8, 2013, at the Pleasant Valley ball fields. (Photo credit: Sam Harrel/News-Miner)

Please credit photo to: Sam Harrel/News-Miner

Caption: Stuart Creek 2 Fire

Firefighter Jon Stave, of Newark, Del., pulls the rain fly over his tent as crews from Monangahela National Forest, W. Va., set up camp Monday evening, July 8, 2013, at the Pleasant Valley ball fields.

Current Situation

Total Personnel

734

Size

82,274 acres

Percent Contained

15%

Fire Behavior

Fire activity subsided with cool temperatures and light rain over the fire. Minimal spread is anticipated today.

Planned Actions

Significant progress was made in direct hand and doze line construction as weather moderated fire behavior. The current weather is providing the opportunity to aggressively attack the fire with direct fire line construction on the fire’s edge.

Growth Potential

Moderate

Terrain Difficulty

Extreme

Remarks

The wet weather pattern is expected to continue to around noon on Wednesday. However, a potential Red Flag weather pattern with high temperatures, very low humidity and strong northeast wind is forecast to begin Thursday and last into the weekend.

Current Weather

Temperature

 65 degrees

Humidity

50%

 

Regarding the cause of the fire, the Anchorage Daily News reported today:

“While residents praised the firefighters, some had harsher words for the U.S. Army, which started the blaze on June 25 during an artillery exercise.

Kent Slaughter, the Alaska Fire Service manager for the Bureau of Land Management, said the BLM had advised the Army not to conduct training that day. The fire, Slaughter added, may lead BLM to re-evaluate how the agency authorizes the Army to conduct live-fire training.

Alexander said community attitudes toward the Army were mixed, with some residents angry, and others who felt that the exercises were a forgivable mishap.”

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.