Winter Trail fire slows

Sunday June 21 update:
Name: Winter Trail
Cause: Human
282 CALIS
Lat: 61:35:33
Lon: 159:50:26
Personnel: 137
Acres: 2,400.0
Start Date: 6/17/09

A type 3 management organization is in place. Due to cooler and wetter weather, and subsequent fire behavior, fire managers have chosen to attack the fire directly. Crews were re-inserted on the fire and began securing the perimeter. Crews made good progress on both flanks of the fire and the fire is 40% contained. Allotment and structure assessments continued along the Kuskokwim River corridor. Observed fire behavior was limited to creeping and smoldering. Crews will continue securing the perimeter from H-30 toward the head of the fire and mop up from H-30 back to the
heel. 137 personnel are working the fire. A TFR remains in place above the fire area. Increase in acreage of 92 acres.

Winter trail fire grows

June 19 update:
Name: Winter Trail
Cause: Human
282 CALIS
Lat: 61:35:33
Lon: 159:50:26
Personnel: 127
Acres: 1,500.0
Start Date: 6/17/09

High winds hampered containment efforts once again. A lack of natural barriers in the area is making containment difficult. The fire has moved off the immediate river corridor in to an area with a large black spruce component and continues to move NW. The cloud ceiling in place over the fire burned off by mid afternoon, and in combination with increased SE winds, led to a sudden increase in fire activity. Fire behavior progressed from creeping and isolated single tree torching to group torching, running, and short range spotting in the afternoon. Crews continued to build and secure line along the flanks of the fire. Good progress was made from the anchor point down both flanks in the morning. The head of the fire was worked throughout the day by aircraft, which was ultimately unsuccessful. The fire burned through a wet area with a creek, and increased in intensity when it progressed back into an area of heavy spruce component. The fire gained approximately 500 acres.
A TFR has been placed over the fire area.

Fire map

Crow Village fire update

Various reports have called this the "Crow Village" fire, however the Fire Service has tagged it the "Winter Trail" fire. At this time, Crow Village itself is not in danger, and the fire is being actively fought with 55 personnel and several aircraft. Here is the latest report from the fire service:

Lat: 61:35:33
Lon: 159:50:26

# 282 CALIS
Personnel: 55
The fire was reported 10 miles West of Aniak at 1550 by helicopter 500EH while flying near Aniak staging. The fire was in Full protection and activity was reported as running, group torching, and short range spotting in tundra, black spruce, and mixed hardwoods. The fire was on the North side of the Kuskokwim River, moving in a NW direction away from the river, fueled by high SE winds gusting to 24mph, which hampered control efforts. Resources mobilized included; Tankers 52, 55, and 267, Helicopters 230, 675, and 500EH, Jump 12 and 17, Air attack 909AK and lead A1. Pioneer Peak IHC and Chena IHC were moved to the fire from fire 255. Fire personnel are working to secure an anchor point and assessing property and values in the area. Actions planned for 6/18 will be to work the flank and secure the perimeter with assistance from air support. Crews are making good progress around the flanks at the time of this report. Fire was started from an escaped cooking fire.

Crow Village damage report

Lisa and David were able to catch a ride to Crow Village on May 13 to inspect the damage from the flood up close. The pictures taken have been added to the flood album which you can view at this link. As speculated before from various aerial recognizance reports, the support structure for the deck has given way, and the little house has moved off it's foundation into the woods. It appears that the support stilts for the big house have been tweaked. Look for an update from Lisa or David here shortly.

update: As suspected, the pilings for the big house were tweaked, however it shouldn't be too difficult to straighten those out. The water did not enter the big house, but came within inches of doing so. The insulation beneath the house is completely soaked and will need to be replaced. That is not a fun job. The damage to the deck was caused by ice flowing into it, however it is all repairable. The little house is mostly still intact except for the one window that is cracked. We may decide to re-set it right where it sits. There was evidence of much turbulence in the smoke house, however, it seems to be surprisingly intact.

A couple of items known to be missing are the washer, and the wooden swing. Also, the seat from the outhouse is missing, so that gives a good indication regarding the depth of the water there. There is still reading material available in that edifice, however it is soaked.

Kalskag report

Kalskag is 23 miles down river from Crow Village. The river issues there are possibly backing up to Crow Village. Here is the report from morning of May 7 on the Alaska River Forecast website:

The two ice jams between Aniak and Kalskag both released
this afternoon. The jam at the Kusko split (RM 167)
released and sent some of the ice down the Old River. This
surge likely helped push out the lower end of the Old River
so now it is freely flowing. The remainder of the ice went
down the main channel towards Kalskag. This run pushed down
the remaining ice sheets to Kalskag. The bottom end of the
jam below Lower Kalskag did peel off when the Old River blew
out. However the jam still holds and now backs up large
pans and sheets to a couple miles above Upper Kalskag.
About three miles of chunk ice is then stacked up behind the
pans/sheets to about 5 miles above Upper Kalskag. Water
levels have risen in Kalskag since the initial issuance of
the flood warning. The road between the airport and Lower
Kalskag is impassable with water levels encircling the
foundation of the old school that burned down. Flood waters
also cross the road between the airport and Upper Kalskag.
Minor flooding so far for Kalskag. On the detailed Kusko
maps, the back edge of the packed ice is right at 1st
Slough. This slough is taking much of the flow of the main
channel and bypassing Kalskag into the Old River...acting as
a little relief valve. The Birch Crossing jam also
released with a decent ice run heading downstream. During
our flight it had reached the split between the Old River
and main Kalskag channel. It looked like the ice run would
split down both channels. Earl just gave a late evening
report and it sounded like much of the ice run went down the
Old River after we left. Nonetheless, there is still a lot
of water above Kalskag so their flood levels may rise
overnight before the jam releases below Lower Kalskag.

Crow Village impacted by flood

On the evening of May 5th, Rob Kinkade of Aniak Air Guides provide the first aerial view of the flood impact at Crow Village. The photographs show a high level of water in the village reaching the floor structure of the main building and steamhouse, inundating the out building, moving the small building, and some structural damage to the smoke house. It will likely be a week before an on site inspection can confirm extent of damage. Thankfully the decision was made to vacate prior to breakup. There are initial indications that remittance from state agencies will be forthcoming, however, we will be looking for volunteers to assist with the certain manual effort involved in remediation activities this summer. Look for an announcement on that in this blog on a later date.

Kuskokwim breakup causing flooding

This year's breakup of the Kuskokwim river is causing havok. The picture is of the ice reaching the top of the Dike in Aniak directly outside the "Driftnet", and anybody who has carried a cooler full of salmon up that dike will attest that this is significant. Some water has passed over the dike, and the latest report is that the level is starting to slowly drop, however that situation can improve or deteriate at any time. Over the weekend there was flooding and evacuation at Red Devel and Napaimute which are upstream from Aniak. More available at this link.