Firefighters and cool, wet weather combine to reduce wildfire activity in popular hiking and camping areas near Fairbanks. The federal Bureau of Land Management this week will reopen portions of the White Mountains Recreation Area north of Fairbanks, due to hard work by firefighters and cooler wet weather thatโs slowed down wildfire activity in the area. The BLM closed the western portion of the popular outdoor recreation area in June, after lightning sparked the OโBrien Fire thatโs since grown to about 8,000 acres. But firefighters successfully suppressed that blaze and two others nearby that have burned a total of 50,000 acres.
โWe still have fire activity,โ BLM spokesperson Teri Balser said Monday. โThe O’Brien Fire, which started in the White Mountains National Recreation area on June 18th, is still burning.โ Balser says firefighters protected the areaโs trails and cabins, and now theyโre mainly monitoring the OโBrien Fire to keep it from flaring-up. She says successful suppression in that area led agency officials to decide to begin opening it back up, beginning with the Wickersham Dome Trailhead, near milepost 28 of the Elliott Highway. โWe have opened one mile from the Wickersham Dome trail head, mostly because we know the berries are out there and ripe, and youโd rather get to them before the bears do.โ
