Containment increased to 80% on the Loon Lake Fire Thursday as the UAF Wildland Fire Crew Nanooks were inserted into the fire and worked with Gannett Glacier Fire Crew to search for heat and mop up deeper into the fire perimeter. Cooler, cloudy weather has moderated the fire behavior, with no fire growth and very few areas of smoke showing. A fire break has been cut around the fire and crews have a hose line around the entire fire perimeter allowing for significant progress with mopping up.
Torrey Short, Type 3 Incident Commander trainee:
Crews will coordinate their areas of coverage, prioritizing mopping up the mosaic edges of the green islands within the perimeter and along the edge of Swan Lake. With the constant concern of interactions with bears and other wildlife, the crews continue to focus on maintaining clean camps and backhauling trash every time a helicopter lands to deliver personnel or supplies.
Today is the Gannett Glacier crew’s last full shift on the fire, and tomorrow they will be extracted and will return to Palmer before their next assignment. The objective for crews and fire managers now is to mop up the fire 100 feet or more inside of the perimeter to lessen chances that it may cross control lines. Operations chiefs Zach Fleming and trainee Kevin Menkens have been embedded with the crews and have been camping on the fireline. A line-qualified Alaska Fire Medic is staged at the helibase in Sterling with a full complement of both basic and advanced life support to support crews for any medical issues. The highest priority on this fire is to ensure that every firefighter returns safely to camp at the end of shift, and leaves this assignment healthy and ready for the next wildfire.
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge managers have elected to take 100% suppression on this fire, which is limited to the north by Swan Lake itself and is burning adjacent to the 2019 Swan Lake Fire scar.
A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains in place with a three mile “no fly” area from the center of the fire. For details about the TFR, go to https://tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_1_2229.html