Observation: On Saturday, Aaron Mitchell and his wife Frankie were returning from their ride from the South on Saturday, August 13, down the coast line when they saw smoke on the lake beach by Ushak. They crossed over the land and saw the burning embers on the brown plant life. There was nothing else they could do so they secured it as best as they can. The temperature was so hot, we were wondering if that could have caused a fire in the shore plant life. When they stomped on one portion to turn it off, it ignited another spot with embers. Since that wasn't helping, they put a gravel barrier between the plant life and the grass.
Kivalina reported this fire to the Alaska State Troopers when it became difficult to contain with the wind coming from the South. They in turn put us in contact with BLM Fire and Aviation. We have been communicating with them ever since because the fire is not within the boundaries of the village. Yesterday, we fought the fire all day to prevent it from spreading further into the tundra. There remained only one smoldering spot by the time I went home at 9:30. The rest of the crew started going home shortly after. The city reported another possible fire North of this fire we're fighting so they will do a flyover to take a look at it. Now we are on storm watch from this storm coming up. We are thankful for the rain though! The sweetest sound that woke me up at 6:00 a.m. were the heavy raindrops falling on my house and the banging of my rain gutter on the house from the wind. The fire was not on city boundaries but it was near a native allotment and threatening the favorite berry picking spot that everyone uses, especially elders. It's easy access for elders.
Observer Update: August 25, Janet Mitchell writes, "Ushak is a native allotment owned by Alvin Lieb. No, the fire is not out. Bennett Frankson was on his way for berry picking on August 24. I asked him to check on the area on his way over and back. He ended up dousing the hot spot above the permafrost. He spent three (3) hours working on it by using his berry picking bucket and hauling water from the lake to the hot spot. He just reported to the city this morning about the area."
Video: Here are a few YouTube clips of the two days of work the volunteers put in to try to control the fire. Video courtesy of Janet Mitchell 'Ushak Fire'. Published on Aug 18, 2016. (20:37 min.), Courtesy of Janet Mitchell, 'Ushak Fire'. Published on Aug 19, 2016. (13:23 min.), and Courtesy of Millie Hawley 'Ushak Fire'. Published on Aug 12, 2016. (00:10 sec.)
LEO says: Dry conditions have contributed to fire risk and peat soils (if this is the case) are known to ignite easily when dry and can smolder and burn for long periods of time, even underground. Fire expert consults pending.
Maniilaq Association Consult: Chris Dankmeyer, Environmental Health Director writes, "No infrastructure is at risk, but, as Janet mentions, the fire is on a site commonly used for berry picking. We have gotten and will continue to get wet weather up this way, I anticipate that with the efforts of the volunteers and Mother Nature, this wildfire will be put out."
