Photos: Funny River fire darkens sky over Kenai Peninsula

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Smoke billows from a wildfire that originated from the Funny River Road area in this view from Soldotna on Tuesday evening, May 20, 2014.

Crews fighting two large wildfires in Southcentral Alaska got a break from the wind, but residents outside Soldotna and Kasilof remained on edge Wednesday while the northwest Cook Inlet villages of Tyonek and Beluga were running low on supplies.

No evacuation orders were in place for any communities on Wednesday morning, though Tyonek residents who evacuated Monday and returned to their homes Tuesday night were told to be ready to leave again if necessary, authorities said.

Winds died down overnight, slowing the wildfires' progress but leaving a heavy blanket of smoke across parts of the region.

The Funny River Horse Trail Fire on the Kenai Peninsula had swelled to about 21,000 acres by Wednesday morning, throwing burning embers ahead of its north flank nearly to Funny River Road, where residents were dealing with smoke so heavy it turned the sun blood red.

Read more: Wary residents watch Kenai, Tyonek wildfires as crews ask for more help