Alaska Fires Char Over Million Acres
The 121 fires reported across central Alaska had charred more than 1 million acres of timber and tundra by today, officials said.
Ninety fire crews, more than 2,600 people, were hampered by continued warm, dry weather and dense smoke.
Crews were focusing on just a few of the fires, said Trish Hogervorst-Rukke, a spokeswoman with the Alaska Fire Information Center in Fairbanks. “They’re concentrating on the fires threatening structures,” she said today.
Many firefighting crews had been released earlier as scattered showers and cooler temperatures dampened many of the state’s fires. But the crews are returning because of the dry weather and highs in the 80s.
No one has been injured and few dwellings have been lost, officials said. Most of the fires have been caused by lightning.
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