Tag: Funny River Fire
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
10:00 AM May 31, 2014
FUNNY RIVER FIRE UPDATE
193,243 acres with 54% containment
Alaska Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell will be visiting the ICP this afternoon and available at the 1:30pm Media briefing.
Fire crews took advantage of the cool and damp conditions as they continued to “mop-up” (extinguish all burning material) up to 300’ from the firelines. Fuels dried considerably on Friday with Chinook winds affecting the Eastern edge of the fire area. Isolated pockets on the east side of the fire displayed very active backing despite 40mph easterly winds and limited precipitation. Crews have tied in the line to Star Lake and are now mopping up the area near Kasilof. Fire containment is now 54 percent, with 751 firefighters working to keep the fire away from populated areas.
Today crews will continue to “mop –up” on the west side of the fire in the Kasilof and Sterling Highway areas (up to 500’ from firelines) and in the Funny River Road area. Containment lines on the north side of Torpedo Lake and north side of the Kenai River will be improved and strengthened. Hotshot crews will also continue building fireline south of the fuel break in the Browns Lake area. Structure protection continues in the Tustumena Lake, Kenai Keys, Private Allotments and the Wilderness Adventure Lodge, Skilak Lake areas.
Even with the current weather and level of containment, several consecutive days of heavier rain are still needed to alter the overall fire activity. Residents can expect to see smoke from inside the perimeter of the fire into the summer.
Early Friday and Saturday mornings, a team from the university’s Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration flew a ScanEagle aircraft over the fire. The aircraft, equipped with infrared image sensors and cameras, found hot spots within the fire perimeter allowing line firefighters to monitor the areas.
Residents and visitors are urged to continue to use extreme caution with anything that could ignite a fire. Visitors and area residents are reminded that fire crews, air and ground equipment are working in the areas of the Sterling Highway and Funny River Road.
Daily advisories on smoke conditions are available from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation at http://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/Air/airtoolsweb/Advisories.
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
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
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
Funny River Fire Update
by Brenda Ahlberg
123,649 acres with 20% containment
On Saturday strong southwesterly winds associated with Red Flag Warning weather conditions tested containment lines and pushed the fire’s size to 123,649 acres by 11:30 PM. The lines held and firefighters successfully halted the fire’s northward progress at a fuel break by Brownes Lake, which is south of Sterling and the Funny River Road. Firefighters will continue building and securing fire lines along the fire’s northern edge. Two Air National Guard Black Hawk helicopters arrived and are assisting firefighters with water drops.
On the fire’s western edge near Kasilof, firefighters kept the fire from crossing the Intertie power line that parallels the Sterling Highway. Crews will continue working on extending containment lines on the fire’s west side. Structure protection crews with fire engines are active in areas potentially affected by the fire. No structures have been lost and the fire has not crossed the Kasilof River.
A successful burnout operation took place to protect the remote Bear Creek Subdivision on the shore of Tustumena Lake. Two other burnout operations took place on Saturday and successfully held the fire. Governor Sean Parnell, State Forester Chris Maisch, and Fire Program Manager Tom Kurth will be touring the fire Sunday. The Governor is scheduled to attend the 1:30 PM media briefing at Skyview High School in Soldotna.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Community Emergency Services expanded the Evacuation Watch for the Pollard Loop Subdivision area to include the east side of the Sterling Highway to Funny River Road, and the south side of Funny River Road. This advisory encourages residents to prepare in case they may need to leave their homes. Vegetation remains extremely dry on the Kenai Peninsula. Residents and visitors are urged to use extreme caution with anything that could ignite a fire. Weekend 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
HEA Taking Precautions as Funny River Fire Grows
by Joe Gallagher
May 24, 2014 – 4:00am – As the Funny River Fire continues to expand, Homer Electric Association (HEA) is taking precautions to protect its transmission lines and continue to provide power to its members.
Friday evening, the fire was very close to two transmission lines that are located between Kasilof and Soldotna, just west of the fire and east of the Sterling Highway.
As a precautionary step, HEA de-energized the transmission line closest to the fire perimeter on Thursday. Prior to the action, HEA reconfigured its electrical system so de-energizing the line had no impact on service to HEA members.
The second transmission line is located closer to the Sterling Highway and further from the fire. However, on Friday evening the fire advanced quickly and it was necessary to de-energize a section of that line between Kasilof and Soldotna. The proactive decision to de-energize the line before the fire potentially burned into it was made in consultation with the Incident Management Team.
The work required a brief ten minute outage at 3:01 am on Saturday that affected the City of Soldotna, Funny River Road, K-Beach Road from Soldotna around to Helmsman Avenue, and the Sterling Highway in Soldotna to just past Skyview High School.
The switching work went smoothly and power was restored to all the affected areas by 3:11 am.
Fire conditions will determine future decisions and HEA will continue to work cooperatively with the Incident Management Team.
HEA will provide updates on its web site, Facebook page, and local media outlets while fire suppression efforts are underway.
For additional information, please call Joe Gallagher at 907-283-2324 jgallagher@homerelectric.com
HEA Updates on Funny River Fire
by Joe Gallagher
HEA monitoring Funny River Fire
Homer Electric Association (HEA) is closely monitoring the Funny River Fire and its proximity to HEA transmission lines and other facilities.
As of Wednesday evening the fire has not impacted any HEA structures and there has been no disruption in service to HEA members.
The primary concern at this time is two high voltage transmission lines that are located between Kasilof and Soldotna, just west of the fire and east of the Sterling Highway.
HEA personnel flew over the fire area Tuesday evening and the fire appeared to be about four miles east of the transmission lines. A fly over was conducted Wednesday morning, but smoke and haze made it difficult to get a current assessment of the fire relative to HEA’s structures.
A flight is scheduled for Wednesday evening to get an updated view of the boundaries of the fire and any potential threat to HEA transmission lines.
At this time, HEA has no plans to disrupt service. Fire conditions will determine future decisions regarding potential service disruptions. If the fire activity poses a threat to the transmission lines or distribution lines, it is likely there will be power outages in the affected areas.
HEA is working closely with the Incident Management Team that is managing fire suppression operations and will assist in efforts to mitigate potential disruption of electrical service to members.
HEA will provide updates on its web site, Facebook page, and local media outlets while fire suppression efforts are underway.
For additional information, please call Joe Gallagher at 907-283-2324 jgallagher@homerelectric.com
Seldovia Time
