Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Alaska)
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High temperatures and winds from the south continued to push the Parks Highway Fire toward the mouth of the Wood River on Saturday, according to the Alaska Division of Forestry.
Eight smokejumpers are protecting a handful of hunting cabins and Native allotments, a forestry statement said.
Firefighters are also watching the fire’s northern perimeter along the Tanana River to assure it doesn’t jump the waterway.
The fire remains at 105,500 acres, but that number is likely to change once officials conduct a reconnaissance flight, said forestry spokesman Bernie Pineda.
“It’s pretty dry,” Pineda said. “The relative humidity is going down.”
The fire was started unintentionally on June 7. It is burning in a wilderness area east of the Parks Highway between Anderson and Nenana.
Pineda said the number of firefighters assigned to the blaze remains at 250, and the fire is between 40 and 50 percent contained. Residents from Anderson to Fairbanks should expect occasional light smoke, the forestry statement said. Also, isolated pockets of fire may be visible.
Motorists are asked to use caution in the fire area, which is between Nenana and 280 Mile Parks Highway.