Two firefighters taken to hospital as wildfire near McHugh Creek continues to burn

A wildfire burning near McHugh Creek grew to an estimated 60 acres Monday, and two firefighters were hospitalized while battling the blaze amid continued hot conditions in Southcentral Alaska.

Phil Blydenburgh, an assistant fire manager with the Alaska Division of Forestry's Anchorage and Mat-Su office, said Monday that the fire — one of at least 100 that started late last week — is formally only 2 percent contained. Authorities had estimated the fire stood between 25 and 40 acres on Sunday.

Approximately 80 people were working to fight the fire by Monday evening, according to an update from the Division of Forestry. Two of them were taken to an Anchorage hospital for treatment of symptoms related to heat exhaustion and dehydration, in what Division of Forestry spokesman Tim Mowry described as "non-emergency situations."

"Firefighting is extremely hard work, especially in the terrain these guys are working in," Mowry said in an email Monday evening. "They are basically climbing up and down a mountain hauling chainsaws and 45-pound packs in 70-80 degree weather and dehydration in that kind of weather isn't uncommon."

Drivers along the Seward Highway could see helicopters dumping water buckets on the fire, which is located in rugged terrain roughly three-quarters of a mile from the McHugh Creek Trail's upper parking lot.

"We've got four helicopter crews assigned to the fire and two engine crews," Blydenburgh said Monday morning. "It is holding where we've checked it with retardant but there's potential for it to move if the wind kicks up and with these high temperatures."

A pair of air tankers was also called in Monday to help suppress hot spots.

Blydenburgh said that at about 10 a.m., the incident commander for the fire asked for the tankers as crews got better information on the fire's status.

"They found a spot that was about a half-mile from the fire, and they just wanted to button it up so they could get crews to it," Blydenburgh said. "They picked up a couple of spot fires that were probably hidden by the drifting smoke."

Crews were also working on cutting down a "saw line" of brush and trees along the perimeter, a task that began Sunday evening but likely won't be completed until fire crews end their shifts Tuesday.

"There's a lot of saw work — that's going to be the name of the game on this one," Blydenburgh said. "It's pretty steep and rugged terrain, so it's slow going."

The closest structures to the fire are about 2 miles away, Blydenburgh said, with the fire burning away from them along drainage areas. No direct impacts were expected Monday along the Seward Highway, although the mix of helicopters and fixed-wing tankers making runs at the fire led to some rubber-necking Sunday afternoon.

"People were stopping to watch the air show that was going on there — that was causing a little bit of congestion," Blydenburgh said.

The parking lots at McHugh Creek remained closed Monday and fire officials requested people to stay clear of the area's trail system.

The cause of the fire remained unknown Monday.

News Editor Ben Anderson contributed to this report.