Munson Creek Fire sees increased activity following record temperatures

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - The Munson Creek Fire near Chena Hot Springs has seen increased activity due to recent weather trends.

According to the Alaska Division of Forestry (ADF), the 54,000 acre wildfire was reinvigorated by the hot and dry weather of the last few days.

The evacuation alert level has been changed from “Ready” to “Set.” This means that residents in the area east of 48 Mile are encouraged to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

The increased activity is happening between miles 52 and 54 of the road, and has brought the fire to within a quarter mile of some homes.

According to Tim Mowry, Public Information Officer with ADF, “We’re going to increase our presence out there. We’re sending a crew out there to reinstall pumps and sprinklers that we had taken down from the cabins. We left all the hoses in place if we had to go back and replumb them and that’s what we’re going to be doing now, and we’ve also got a few engines patrolling the road.”

He added, “We recommended putting that evacuation back up to a set because we’re going to have more people in the area.”

The evacuation level had previously been sitting at “Ready” since July 26th.

According to Mowry, this weekend has a rainy forecast, which will hopefully help control the fire.

The Alaskan Interior is also experiencing a 3000 acre blaze called the “Salcha River 2” Fire, burning 65 miles east of Fairbanks and 15 miles away from the Munson Creek Fire.

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