State forestry air tanker assists Canada with retardant drops on wildfire in the Yukon

The State of Alaska has a cross-border “splash and dash” agreement with Canada to provide aerial assistance with wildfire suppression, if resources are available. Tanker 540 and lead plane ASM A4 made the 1-hour flight to Dawson and dropped three loads of retardant around the Bell Creek Fire burning about 12 miles southwest of Dawson. The tanker and lead plane flew back across the border to the Tanacross Tanker Base near Tok to reload and refuel following the first drop and the tanker made two more drops to help buy more time for the Yukoners to get ground forces in place. ASM A4 also served as the lead plane for a Yukon Electra P3 air tanker that was making drops on the fire. At last report, the Bell Creek Fire was approximately 37 acres. The Yukon Protective Services’ wildland fire management division recorded 17 new wildfires on Wednesday across central and southern Yukon as a result of more than 3,800 lightning strikes.
AK Fire Info

Ketchikan community rallies to support family after fire consumes their home

Two Ketchikan residents were left devastated after a house fire Sunday afternoon. No humans were injured, but two pets were lost, and the home is uninhabitable. Sunday afternoon, Sonya Skan said she woke up from a nap to the smell of smoke. She ran out of her house, grabbing two of her pets and not much else. When she tried to go back for her other dog and cat, she said she couldn’t get back in — the home was already full of smoke. That moment is hard to describe, she said. “(It) felt surreal,” she said. “You just can’t explain that.” Skan said she’s still processing what happened. She and her husband Norman Skan were able to get to the second floor of the house after the fire was extinguished, but she said most of their possessions were lost or damaged. The worst fire damage was concentrated in the lower levels of the house, with more smoke damage in the upper level, said Ketchikan Fire Marshal Gretchen O’Sullivan.
KRBD-FM 103.5 Ketchikan