Alaska’s first large wildfire of the season is threatening Native allotments and a fish weir. On April 16, a 650-acre tundra fire cropped up near Bethel, just northwest of Three Step Mountain. That’s according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Commercial pilots first reported the fire to the state after spotting the blaze on April 17.
A pilot from the Alaska Division of Forestry’s fire prevention branch flew to assess the fire on April 16 and April 17. Pilot and firefighter Matt Snyder said that the fire was within several miles of two Native allotments, and 5 miles from the Kwethluk fish weir. As of April 18, the fire had grown to 2,000 acres.
This story has been updated to reflect that the fire has grown to 2,000 acres as of Monday, April 18.