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Funny River Fire Update
ALASKA INTERAGENCY INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
TYPE 2 TEAM
Rob Allen, INCIDENT COMMANDER
FIRE INFORMATION
PHONE: (907) 714-2484
FACEBOOK: Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team
INCIWEB: http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/3878/
EMAIL: funnyriverfire@gmail.com
9:30 am May 27, 2014
FUNNY RIVER FIRE UPDATE
182,009 acres with 30% containment
Firefighters made excellent progress yesterday extending containment lines on the west side of the fire in the Kasilof and Sterling Highway areas. Crews also completed burnout operations along the northern perimeter (south of Funny River road) late in the day helping to secure areas that had burned over containment lines on Sunday. The fire grew to over 182,000 acres as winds continued to push the fire perimeter northeast towards the Skilak Lake Road and further east into the wildlife refuge area. Overall fire containment is now 30 percent.
The evacuation order along the Funny River road has been cancelled. Residents are allowed to return to their homes. This area remains under an evacuation advisory. The evacuation advisory along the Sterling Highway was also lifted. The Kenai Keys area remains under an evacuation advisory. The Lower Skilak Lake Campground remains closed until further notice.
Community meetings are scheduled tonight for folks to learn more about current fire suppression activities. Meetings will be at Tustumena School at 6 p.m. and at Soldotna High School at 8 p.m.
The fire received .03 -.06 inches of rain overnight. The weather forecast is calling for continued rain throughout the day and additional precipitation until the end of the week. The cooler and wetter weather will help slow fire activity and assist firefighters in efforts to contain the fire. Several consecutive days of appreciable moisture are needed to alter the overall fire activity.
Vegetation remains extremely dry on the Kenai Peninsula. Residents and visitors are urged to use extreme caution with anything that could ignite a fire. Visitors to the area and residents are reminded that fire crews, air and ground equipment are working in close proximity to the Sterling Highway and Funny River Road.
Information about current smoke conditions is available from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation at http://dec.alaska.gov/air/am/smoke.htm
Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Services has set up a call line to help homeowners with fire preparedness. Residents can call (907) 714-2495. Information is available at http://www.borough.kenai.ak.us/emergency-mgmt/fire
Thank You Seldovia
by Jeremiah and Angela Campbell – The Boardwalk Hotel
We would like to thank everyone in the community who attended the open house that was held recently at the Boardwalk Hotel. What a beautiful day we had to visit and meet on the Boardwalk’s front deck!
The support from the community has been overwhelming and we are very appreciative of the positive feedback that we have received. We want everyone to know that we are doing our best to get things up and running with the pub & grill, but the priority has been to complete all the guest rooms. For the most part, the guest rooms are now finished, and we are focusing on the pub & grill areas.
Based on some of the comments that we received at the open house, we want to make it clear to everyone that the hotel, pub & grill will be open year round and open for the general public every day, not just serving the guests of the hotel. In order for the hotel, pub & grill to be successful, we will absolutely need the support of the local people in the community. The Boardwalk Pub & Grill will be opening soon for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
We are still putting up old town Seldovia pictures and other items (most items donated from local families) around the hotel. We welcome you to stop by the hotel anytime to check out our new displays.
Funny River Road is Still Closed
by Brenda Ahlberg
At this time the Funny River Road is still CLOSED until further notice. When AKIMT and AK State Troopers determine that it is safe for residents to return to their homes, OEM will deploy a Rapid Notify message, work with local media and post on the websites to let folks know.
NOTE: OEM is working with the Rapid Notify technical support team and local phone providers to fix the problem. We understand that messaging was not reaching some phone numbers and that there was “overlapping” that included numbers just outside the “triangulated” areas that were designated to receive calls.
REMINDER: PIO Kris Eriksen will be at the Red Cross Shelter at Redoubt Elementary at roughly 10:00 am to provide evacuees with an update on the fire and a status on the evacuation. The time is approximate as we want to be able to provide maps. Redoubt shelter number #317-4518, 486 W. Redoubt Ave.
OEM Hotline for current fire-related information, please call 907-714-2495.
Duplicate emails are possible; please forward as appropriate. This message has been emailed to KPB Admin, KPB AHIMT, KPB Assembly, KPB Depts, KPB SAs, KPBSD, Borough-wide First Responders, Cities, Tribal Entities, State Depts/Legislators, U.S. Congressional Delegates, Media, Nonprofits.
Brenda Ahlberg
Community & Fiscal Projects Manager
KPB IMT-III Lead Public Information Officer
Kenai Peninsula Borough
144 N. Binkley St., Soldotna Alaska 99669
907-714-2153 office
907-714-2377 fax
907-394-8385 mobile
Seldovia Time
