This just in:
The Swan Lake Fire area near Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula became increasingly active today, crossing Resurrection Pass Trail at Slaughter Ridge.
The Great Basin Incident Management Team and the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management changed the evacuation alert to Level 2 (SET) in all areas of Cooper Landing, Sterling Highway Milepost 46-54.
A Level 2 (SET) Evacuation is not a notice to leave, but residents must be ready and prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. A Level 2 signifies that there is significant danger in the area.
Fire managers advise this is a dynamic situation and the status of the Sterling Highway can change at any time. For the latest information, visit kpboem.com and on Facebook at “KPB Alerts.” This is also your best source for updated evacuation information.
The Sterling Highway is currently open with pilot cars between the Y at the intersection of the Sterling Highway and the Seward Highway, and milepost 71 at Watson Lake.
The shelter at Seward High School will remain open tonight; also a shelter at the Soldotna Sports Center is open tonight. Large animals can be kept at the rodeo grounds near the Sports Center. The City of Soldotna has also opened Centennial and Swiftwater Campgrounds for those who are displaced.
Kenai Borough officials say the fire is not an immediate threat to Cooper Landing at this time but weather is expected to be the same tomorrow.
There will be firefighters out on the line tonight and 12 engines staying at the community center if they are needed. Helicopters flew the fire tonight to look at it and they feel things have calmed down. There is a good plan in place to protect the community. The READY and SET lines line will be altered a bit for tomorrow.
A hotshot crew and a low impact bulldozer are working late to reinforce firelines up Slaughter Creek Road. These lines tie into a previously constructed fuel break. Fire managers are working on a plan to bring in aircraft and other resources as early as possible Tuesday morning to protect Cooper Landing.
Get SET by loading your 6 P’s: People, Pets, Pills, Photos, Personal (computer back-up info), and important Papers and a 7-day kit into your vehicle. You may have time to gather necessary items, however remember you must be prepared and ready to relocate. You may want to leave at Level 2 (SET) if you need additional time to relocate family members with mobility issues or to relocate pets, livestock and large mobile vehicles such as RVs, ATVs or boats. If you need extra time; don’t wait to leave. Monitor social media, news and radio for information, and call 907-262-INFO (4636) for updates.
Emergency personnel may contact you via the emergency notification system KPB Alerts. All landlines are automatically registered in this system; however, you must register mobile phones if you have not already done so. For additional information on the Ready, Set, Go! Evacuation Guidelines, please visit www.kpboem.com or call 907-262-INFO (4636).
I am on the boundary line for the evacuation order. I am not in direct danger. However everytime I think this fire will not advance -it does. It is coming over the mountains through Resurrection Pass to
threaten Bean Creek Road. A stiff west wind would be Armageddon.
Chris,
Hope for the best, but please plan for the worst…
State Fire Science experts in Willow are showing the dryness in our fuels and soils as “unprecedented” in 40 years of Wildfire data from Alaska…
With unseasonably warm temperatures and NO rain in the forecast, I am afraid things will get worse before they get better in S.C.
Unfortunately, Governor Dunleavy did not size the opportunity to call up the supertanker when it was readily available and could have stopped these fires nearly two weeks ago.
Resources are know fully taxed accross the state as we see nearly 600 firefighters from all over the country trying to “contain” and “mop up” the McKinley fire in Willow….
It seems like “trench warfare” is the government’s chosen tactic for our future.
I posted the following comment on August 19:
Once again, the fire authorities have botched the job on the Swan Lake Fire. After spending $25 million to contain and suppress the fire, the force had dwindled to just 12 firefighters about 36 hours ago. The authorities were proclaiming a management success and noting how much good had been done for the habitat. Then things changed, which is typical for Alaska. A note to the fire authorities: The film of the closure of the Sterling Highway, the threat to property and the notices to evacuate do not look like “success” any more. Hospitals and doctor’s offices in Anchorage are flooded with people with respiratory problems. This is a human-enabled catastrophe.
Now, we are moving from a force of 12 to bringing in a Type One incident management team from the lower 48 to try to contain the fire. These folks are the best of the best. The federal government needs to spend some serious alone time and re-evaluate the fire management strategies for the Swan Lake Fire. The current approach is bankrupt.
Things are only getting worse…
We need a new manager for this wildfire disaster. Today.
This current situation with this fire is outrageous. This fire should have been put out some time ago. Yes we need someone else heading up this fire. I went through the 1969 Fire too. All people writing in about any subject should have what it takes to fully identify themselves. I don’t admire cowards.
Seymour Marvin Mills Jr. sui juris
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