As risk of wildland fire increases, state closes Tanana Valley Forest to motorized vehicles

30 June 2022

Published by: https://www.deltawindonline.com

USA – The State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources closed the Tanana Valley State Forest to motorized vehicle access on Wednesday except for those who have land holdings withing the state forest. Due to the increased threat of wildland fire and limited staffing caused by the number of wildland fires active in the state the state said the action was necessary. As of Wednesday morning, there were 145 active wildland fires in the state.

Tuesday showed two new fires, both in Southcentral.

The local area has seen eight wildland fires this year that have burned 3,007 acres. As of Wednesday, three fires were still considered active.

The Central Creek Airstrip fire along the Goodpaster River accounted for all but 12 acres burned locally. The fire is currently in monitor status and was caused by lightening.

Several large fires west and southwest of Fairbanks and in the western part of the state have continued to threaten structures and resulted in evacuations. The smoke currently seen around the local area are from these fires.

There have been a total 1.5 million acres burned this year in Alaska with 353 unique fires. Several fires have now been combined into complex fires falling under a single command team.

With the approaching holiday weekend and continued dry weather predicted, additional restrictions are possible.

The Tanana Valley State Forest encompasses numerous pieces of land from Tok to Fort Wainwright, much of which is north of the Alaska and Richardson Highways, including much of the land along the Tanana River northeast of Delta Junction.