The Alaska Division of Forestry says the spread of a lightning-caused wildland fire burning near mile 50 of the Tok Cutoff has slowed with the help of air tankers dumping retardant.
Officials are calling it the Cutoff Fire, for the highway they feared it would reach. The 125-mile road connects the Alaska and Richardson highways between Tok and Glennallen. The fire's size grew to 40 acres and was less than a mile from the road Wednesday.
Division of Forestry air tankers were able to box in the fire, said public information officer Tim Mowry.
"We're pretty confident it won't reach the road," he said.
With the fire under control, helicopters dropping water have replaced the tankers. Two crews of firefighters are on the ground to suppress further spread, Mowry said.
The Cutoff Fire was one of at least two wildfires started in the Copper River Basin area Wednesday night by lightning strikes, according to the Division of Forestry.
When the Chistochina River Fire was reported it had grown to about 7 acres. Officials placed the fire 23 miles east of Paxson Lake.
Around 7:30 p.m., personnel fighting the blaze from the air reported it had grown to 60 acres, actively torching black spruce.
"That fire is three-quarters of a mile from a cabin on a lake but a wind switch is pushing the fire away from the cabin. There is another cabin on the other side of the lake with a dirt road leading to it," according to the forestry division.
Despite the structures, the current plan calls for monitoring the fire as it's located in a limited protection area. Fire managers will determine if the cabins need to be protected.