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

A wildfire that closed Denali National Park and Preserve on Sunday afternoon and Monday dashed the dreams of thousands of travelers who had the park high on their travel itinerary in Alaska.

Many had to shift their travel and lodging plans amid a lack of electricity and running water in nearby Glitter Gulch, a jumping off point to the park with hotels, shops and restaurants, after the Riley Fire near the park entrance triggered a power outage, tourism representatives said.

With no flush toilets, lodge operators provided portable toilets or motorcoach bathrooms, they said.

The fire also canceled the trains that ferry cruise travelers to the park from Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the Alaska Railroad worked with a large motorcoach company to get many of the displaced travelers off to their next destination.

Hopefully the closure will be short-lived and the park can reopen soon, said Chris Noel, mayor of the Denali Borough.

“It’s a big disruption to our area and it will have rippling impacts,” after shops and restaurants had to close and travelers had to find new plans, Noel said. “But everyone is doing what they can to help and get us through this.”

Late Monday, the National Park Service announced park facilities will remain closed on Tuesday.

[Denali National Park closed as crews fight wildfire at height of tourist season]

New Jersey residents Ken and Kathy McKenna found themselves unexpectedly spending two extra nights in Anchorage after their plans to visit the park were dashed by the fire.

Seeing Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, was the reason they’d come to Alaska, he said. So it was a letdown when they arrived at the railroad station early Monday and learned their train to the park had been canceled.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” Ken McKenna said. “But obviously, you can’t do much about a fire and from what we’re hearing, everybody’s doing well up there.”

The good news is they were able to extend their stay at their Anchorage hotel in Midtown for two nights, he said.

“So we’ll stay here for a couple of days and then we’re heading down to Seward as we originally planned,” he said.

But given the distance to travel to Alaska, it’s unlikely they’ll come back to see Denali, he said.

Florida residents John Montana and his wife, Donna, said they also learned early Monday that the train they planned to take for their two-day trip to visit the park was canceled. They’re part of a tour package with Holland America, he said, as they also awaited a trolley tour of Anchorage.

Suitcases with much of their clothing were already in Fairbanks, their planned departure point from the state, he said.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen, if we’re going to make it to Denali or not,” Montana said. “They might just take us straight to Fairbanks.”

The fire happened during the park’s busiest period, said park spokesman Paul Ollig. The park can see 4,000 visitors or more a day this time of year, he said.

Most tourists who are being turned away have been understanding, in part because they can see the fire at the entrance, he said.

“A couple of people have been frustrated, but we just point over our shoulders and say, ‘You see that?’” he said.

“We know this is a trip of a lifetime, and people want to see Denali, so we understand it’s frustrating,” he said. “But our priority right now is for the life and safety of the public and the firefighters.”

Vanessa Jusczak, director of the Denali Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks at least 2,000 travelers were affected by the lack of electricity and running water and toilets in Glitter Gulch.

The Chamber has been serving as a communication link for families looking for loved ones they hadn’t heard from after their cellphones died, she said.

“I’m letting them know everyone is OK, but they don’t have power,” she said. She said no one had been hurt by the fire or smoke.

Josh Howes, president of Premier Alaska Tours, said the railroad hired the motorcoach company to move travelers to their next destination, after rail travel between the park and Anchorage and Fairbanks was shut down.

The bus company was busy shuttling travelers to new hotels outside Glitter Gulch after their trip to the park was canceled, he said.

“It’s very disappointing, but of course the guests have been very understanding,” Howes said.

Kathy Kannenberg and her family, visiting Alaska from Florida and Wisconsin, saw the fire Sunday before the park was closed, as they drove by in a rental car. They had planned to visit the park but instead continued on to Anchorage, recognizing there would soon be a busy effort to stop the fire.

“We decided not to stress out an area that’s already got enough stress,” she said. “They can contain it, and we can come back another time.”

ADN photojournalist Bill Roth contributed reporting.