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Alaska is burning


Nanuq

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It's not really on the news right now, but we've got over 300 fires burning and over 600,000 acres have gone up in smoke.  They're not even trying to control them, there's nothing they can do.

 

My daughter is in Aniak on the Kuskokwim river these two weeks and they're starting to evacuate.  Man it's a helpless feeling when she sends pictures like this.

 

 

post-32-0-73578700-1435348308_thumb.jpg

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No rain in the forecast, and we're hoping the winds stay down.  I told her if nothing else, wrap in a wet blanket and lie in the middle of the runway.  There's a hundred-foot strip of safety there.  If the smoke clears they can get more flights in to continue evac, otherwise I told her to get people in boats and go.

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Best wishes for your daughter Nanuq.

My daughter is a wildfire tech(fire fighter) here in Northern Ontario, her crew has been put on alert, for possible deployment in Alaska.

I will be keeping my fingers crossed for a safe future for both our daughters.

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Yikes! Hope that you and your family are safe! Fires are a scary thing... Hopefully they can contain it!

 

There's absolutely no containing fires like this.  There aren't even roads up there. 

 

We've got 4 major fires burning within 100 miles of Chez Nanuq and they've destroyed over 100 homes.  Most of the mushers up around Willow have lost everything.

 

But leave it to those tough old sourdoughs, they get the word that someone's in trouble and everyone brings their trucks to help get them and their dogs out.  They've rescued over 200 sled dogs and they're all having a dog party up at Martin Buser's place.  What a commotion!

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That´s sad when untouched and unspoiled nature and homes to kind people are destroyed like that. Hoping for some rain and containment of the fires and that everything with You, family and friends stays well.

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Terrible. Why is no trying to fight them?

Here's a picture from a while back, yes that's smoke, and this photo is about 1,000 miles wide. There's just no way to do it.

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Update: I heard from my daughter, she's still in the village, she's one tough chick. She says they got rain and that knocked the fires down a little. The smoke is clearing some so they can breath again. Whew! That's a relief.

I'll be in the village of Noorvik up the Kobuk River for a week, and it looks like the fires are calm there. You guys are on your own for a week! Try not to burn this place down, eh?

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And that's for fires you can drive near to. Here it's all helicopter access with extreme remote sites for logistics. The only water for suppression can come from streams or lakes, so you're flying heavy aircraft (PBY5s) or choppers to carry water. Considering that map is 1,000 miles across, it would be billions of dollars to try to fight them. Sorry, but the critters are just going to have to do their best to survive.

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