Denali National Park closures continue as crews fight wildfire at height of tourist season

A wildfire has closed Denali National Park at the start of a busy holiday week, triggering evacuations and power outages and canceling passenger train service to the park. The park will remain closed on Tuesday, parks officials announced late Monday.

Alaska’s fire officials said cooler weather Monday slowed the blaze’s growth. By early afternoon, the fire was about a mile north of the park entrance and remained on the west side of the Nenana River near Mile 239 of the Parks Highway.

Officials say the fire comes during the park’s busiest time of year, when Denali generally sees 3,000 to 4,000 visitors daily.

The fire’s rapid start near the park’s entrance Sunday afternoon prompted officials to close it to day-use visitors as authorities called for evacuations from campgrounds and employee housing.

As of Monday, vehicles were being turned around at the park’s only entry along the Parks Highway, park tour and transit buses were canceled, and public facilities including the visitor center were closed. Those closures will continue on Tuesday, the park announced. Campgrounds and backcountry units west of park headquarters remained open to visitors with existing reservations who were already at their campsites, but no additional campers were allowed to enter the park, park officials said in a statement Monday.

[Wildfire that closed Denali National Park scrambles plans for thousands of tourists on a ‘trip of a lifetime’]

The Alaska Railroad announced the cancellation of passenger service to the park on Monday. People booked on the train were being bused north from Talkeetna and south from Fairbanks, according to an update Monday afternoon. Railroad officials said they expected service to return to normal on Tuesday.

About 150 National Park Service employees housed in a facility near the fire were evacuated Sunday, said park spokesman Paul Ollig. An evacuation center was established in Healy. About 50 people sheltered overnight at Tri Valley High School in Healy, according to an update from state disaster managers.

This is the first time in 100 years that fire has closed the park’s entrance, Ollig said: In early July 1924, a major wildfire near the entrance destroyed some facilities and closing park operations.

“We were actually planning on doing social media posts and interpretive programs commemorating the 100th anniversary of that fire this summer, and wouldn’t you know it — we have another fire in that area almost exactly to the day, 100 years later,” he said.

Park closures were focused on protecting firefighter and public safety, Ollig said. The park only has one road, which limits evacuation options.

By Monday evening, what officials are calling the Riley Fire was estimated at 385 acres, reported the Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska Fire Service. No structures were immediately threatened, officials said.

The fire didn’t grow much overnight and cloudy, cooler weather with a possibility of rain was expected Monday, which could help moderate activity, Ipsen said. But it’s possible evening thunderstorms could bring erratic winds, the fire service said.

The Riley Fire was suspected to be human-caused, but there will be an investigation into what started it, the fire service said.

It was first reported west of the Alaska Railroad tracks in an area of black spruce, said Beth Ipsen, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Fire Service.

“This is a huge impact to those businesses today, the local economy and of course tourists that are coming to Alaska for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Denali National Park,” she said.

Nearly 130 Golden Valley Electric Association members remained without power Monday in the Glitter Gulch area, the utility said in a social media update. The area is a popular destination for visitors drawn to the shops, restaurants and lodging. The fire had moved close to the utility’s electric equipment and power would remain off throughout the day, the utility said.

Firefighters were working to keep the fire burning northwest toward a brushy ridge to get it out of black spruce, Ipsen said. The brush was expected to slow the fire’s growth along with rocky, alpine terrain on the ridge, she said.

Additional fire crews were arriving in Alaska on Monday, and Ipsen said at least two of the four crews were slated to respond to the Riley Fire.

Warm and dry conditions in portions of the state sparked new fires over the weekend or caused existing fires to expand. By Monday, nearly 430,000 acres had burned statewide in more than 300 fires, according to an updated Alaska Interagency Coordination Center Situation Report.

A large cluster of six wildfires north of Fairbanks was expected to continue growing until cooler conditions move into the area Wednesday, the BLM Alaska Fire Service said. The largest fire, which is now estimated at more than 12,500 acres, prompted evacuation orders along a 9-mile stretch of the Elliott Highway last week.

Crews on Monday were setting up sprinkler systems, clearing brush and creating fire breaks to protect structures near the highway, fire officials said. They advised drivers to expect significant delays.

Thick smoke settling over the fire calmed its activity later in the afternoon Sunday on the 160,000-acre McDonald Fire near Salcha.

A fire in Mat-Su that started Saturday 16 miles south of Talkeetna prompted a heavy response from federal, state and local fire crews. The Montana Creek Fire grew to 172 acres on Sunday before rain moderated fire activity, officials said.

As of Monday afternoon, 80 people working that fire had increased containment to 40%, according to an update. An incident management team from Wyoming assumed command of that fire Monday morning.