Smoke from the South River Hills Fire could be seen from Unalakleet. The fire began approximately 6 miles from the community, and grew from 30 to 160 acres.It was contained by BLM Alaska Fire Service Smokejumers by 11pm on June 9, 2019.
Observation by John Henry:
At approximately 1:43 PM AK time, as I exited the Alaska Commercial (A.C.) store, I noticed a plume stack located in a south-easterly direction on the tundra outside of Unalakleet on an order of tens of miles. The white mixed with gray plume was rising in a diagonal fashion, which eventually tapered off with a near horizontal smoke in, what appears at my vantage point, a north-easterly direction. The diameter of the smoke did not appear to be large.
This event is the third event in a row, back-to-back, that has occurred in a summer. However, in this situation, of the three, which this observation makes, the direction of the fire was away from town.
Comments from LEO Editors:
According to Alaska Wildland Fire Information, on the evening of June 9th, BLM Alaska Fire Service Smokejumers contained a 160 acre fire burning six miles from Unalakleet. Although there were multiple cabins and fish camps in the area, none were threatened by the fire. The fire was weakened when it encountered young green trees, and was further suppressed by water-dropping aircrafts.
More information on current wildfires in Alaska can be found on the Alaska Wildland Fire Information website.. This site is updated with information from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center, which houses a high-bandwidth map of all current fires in the state. The map is supported by BLM Alaska Fire Service, Alaska Division of Forestry, US Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. More information can also be found by calling 1-800-356-5511.
To report a wildland fire in Alaska, call 1-800-237-3633 or 911
