FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - Outside of Fairbanks, wind directions changed near Chena Hot Springs Resort tonight. The 200,000-acre Wolf Creek fire that wasn't threatening homes suddenly posed a threat to an entire subdivision. A temperature inversion brought the winds down the hill that the subdivision sits below -- and with those winds came fire.
The wind shift came late in the day, and it meant homes that hadn't been threatened by fire were suddenly in danger. But almost as soon as the fire started moving in, so did firefighting crews. The crews quickly contained the new threat.
"We're hoping for a weather break, and right now we're going to just anchor with what we have and tie things into the river and get the structures and the people taken care of," said Tim Sternberg, the division supervisor.
The new fire threat struck Chena Hot Springs just as a meeting between firefighters and residents had gotten underway. Property owners said the threatening situation gave them a real respect for the power of Mother Nature.
"It's still burning and it's not over yet. It was pretty intense Thursday night, when it came down in our fork. It sounded like a jet plane coming down and we were just ahead of it getting out," cabin owner Greg Campbell said.
Firefighters say tonight that they have the upper hand on the situation, but they know it's a struggle to prevent the fire from spreading.
"With limited resources and with remote country like this, that's a tough job to take care of, but that is our focus," said Jack Connor of the U.S. Forest Service.
The Wolf Creek fire in Chena Hot Springs is one of two fires in Alaska that is considered to be threatening to property owners. The other is the Boundary fire north of Fairbanks. Both are being held at bay, but if lighting strikes or wind suddenly changes, things could quickly get out of hand.
Authorities say they expect clouds and high humidity tomorrow, followed by possible rain later in the week. The rain won't be enough to extinguish the fires, but it could perhaps be enough to help firefighters keep them at bay until more rain arrives later in the season.
