VIDEO: A wildfire that has grown to over 1,400 acres is posing a threat to Native allotments, burning 10 miles southwest of Crooked Creek and 35 miles west of Sleetmute. The Alaska Division of Forestry said Monday that winds continue to hold up to 20 mph, pushing the Oskawalik Fire into tundra terrain and black spruce for fuel. The fire was reported Sunday to be roughly 350 acres in size, but by Monday it had grown to about 1,434 acres, according to the Alaska Wildland Fire and Lightning Dashboard. The initial attack effort was made by McGrath Helitack and Retardant Tanker 544. Tanker 544, or T-544, made its season debut for this fire as the first Alaska DOF air tanker from Palmer in support of fire suppression.
On Saturday, Bureau of Land Management Alaska Smokejumpers provided an initial 12 firefighters before deploying a second load later in the day. The smokejumpers also dropped off para-cargo which was supplied with portable pumps, hoses, equipment, and other necessary supplies used for point protection efforts. A Southwest Alaska emergency firefighter crew, DOF Southwest #2 Suppression Module, was flown from McGrath to Crooked Creek, before being shuttled on boat to the fire along the Kuskokwim River. Having recently trained in McGrath, Southwest #2 played a key part in performing fuel mitigation work. A total of 55 resources responded to the Oskawalik Fire on Saturday.
