2009 Fires

I understand that it has been a bad season for fires this summer, with almost 700K acres burnt. I will be on the old Denali Highway in less than two weeks. I know it is selfish, considering the magnitude of damage from all the fires, but just how bad is the smoke?

It ain't pretty Phillip, but I think the weather may be on your side. A large high pressure system has been stalled over the state for most of the last two weeks and is holding off the rain while feeding the fires. I can't imagine it will persist for two additional weeks, and if it moves on the rains in its wake will help clear the air. If the rains don't come, we'll be redefining FIRE though.

How is it down by you Hank? Up here, in the Valley - it is very hazy. You can almost smell the smoke in the air. It was bad enough on Wednesday, crossing the Knik River Bridge on my way into Anchorage, that I couldn't see the mountains through the haze. The long term forecast (can we actually trust it. "Forecast" seems incorrect, maybe "Magic 8 Ball reading" would be more appropriate) is saying no rain for at least 10 days... Last summer we prayed for a break in the clouds, now we're praying for a break from the sun!
The grand landscapes are taking some time off for a couple more days - but the wildlife is still thriving!

We don't get any of the smoke Dave. We did get a thin haze from the Russian volcano, but that only intensified the sunrises and sunsets. But we're HURTING for rain here, something seldom said about Kodiak. We're flying out for bears next weekend, so I'm figuring that's a surefire rain call.

I spent the day at Eagle Summit. Despite all the fires, there wasn't a trace of smoke. Just scads of Northern Wheatear kids, Am. Golden Plovers and more.

More to the point, Philip, it depends on which way the wind is blowing. There are far fewer fires south of the Alaska Range. You may very well get lucky.

Considerably further south, today is the first day in the last five that I have clear view of the surrounding mountains. They look positively sharp after growing accustomed to the haze, which has finally (at least temporarily) moved on. Rain? Maybe then I could finally get some work done.

Thanks, Alaska guys. I will approach this like I have learned to do everything Alaska—I'll take it like it comes.

If it's smokey, there's one advantage. Watch those sunrises and sunsets. Holy Cow!

Visibility today in Fairbanks is 1/4 - 1/2 mile, with a dense smoke advisory and an air quality alert. It's pretty bad.

Sounds nasty Jim, and you had more lightning in the forecast last night, didn't you. Keep us posted.

I feel your frustration Philip. Like Carl Donhue said the other day, it might as well be raining.

We have had it real bad in Seward this summer as well - often we don't see the smoke. The last two days here finally cleared off - I suppose that is the advantage of being by the coast, when the south wind blows. Hopefully it will continue.

I have been closely watching web cams around the state looking for breaks in the smoke. One thing that I found interesting is that at times, even areas that have been hard hit by smoke, like Denali, have briefly cleared off. So you never know, hopefully you will get lucky. The smoke is nice for wildlife portraits. :)

Philip, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the long-range forecast is for mostly clear skies for the next two weeks at least. The bad news is, there's nothing in the forecast that will do anything but make the forest fires worse. So whether you encounter bad smoke is going to depend entirely on where you are and which way the wind is blowing at the time you are there. The biggest fires and the worst smoke are in the Minto/Nenana basin. If you are on the Denali Highway, you want a wind from the south or east.

Good luck with that.

Thanks, Jim. I have been following as close as I can, studying the weather maps, BLM predictions and maps as well as the NWS forecasts. Easier If I knew where all the names are, but from what I have seen of the fire locations, you are exactly right, a SE wind would be great. The one thing I know for sure about fire though, after messing with fire for 40+ years, is that it will never do exactly what you want.

But I will be there, come hell or highwater. Since we are starting at the west end, I suspect our greatest chance of smoke will be the first day. Maybe a great sunrise or sunset? Hopefully we can exit the smoke by the second day.

Hey Phillip.

You probably know this, but you can keep pretty close tabs on the fires at their individual incident web sites accessed here at the National Interagency Fire Center. Along with google earth, the maps should give you a pretty powerful tool.

Thanks, Hank. Very helpful!

Fairbanks forest fire smoke report: Ghastly. Visibility less than half a mile. Dingy dim orange sun. Seriously bad.

Thanks, but no thanks!!!!

Starting yesterday, we finally got airmail delivery of smoke from the Interior fires. It started as a yellowish haze we could see on the horizon while we were offshore. By dinner time it was noticeably dimming details of the town of Kodiak, nine miles from our home across the water.

This morning we can't see Kodiak or the mountains behind it. According to the NWS, visibility is currently down to 6 miles. Certainly nothing like the half mile or less in Fairbanks and surrounds, and we have to really search our nostrils to find any scent of smoke.

Thankfully for us, a slight change in weather could send it packing.

The Interior could be stuck with much worse conditions than I'm grousing about for quite some time, I fear. Ick.

Good news/bad news - the fires are mostly out/rain is forecast for the next week, including the crane festival. Coming down pretty solid all day here.

Of course! It's a rule. It only rains if you have something planned. We've had the same flyout trip blown by rain three times this summer, and recently rescheduled for next summer. I figure we won't see another drop of rain till September.

Need rain? Plan an outdoor event. Or forget your raincoat!

In Fairbanks we call it Fair weather; when the Tanana Valley State Fair is under way, no matter the dates they pick, it rains...