Denali National Park closed by wildfire for third day as holiday weekend looms

Denali National Park was closed to visitors again Wednesday as firefighters worked to contain a wildfire that has prompted emergency closures and evacuations during the park’s busiest week.

The park remained closed heading into the Fourth of July on Thursday and the long weekend to follow. Park officials on Wednesday afternoon said they still didn’t know when operations might resume. The closure disrupted thousands of travelers who planned to visit over the holiday week.

Park officials were evaluating the fire daily to determine when it might be safe again to open the park, said spokeswoman Anastasia Brease. There was no set date for when the park will reopen, she said.

As of Wednesday, authorities said the Riley Fire was about 25% contained, at its southern flank about a mile from the park entry, and just under 390 acres. The cause of the fire remained unknown Wednesday as two investigators arrived on scene, authorities said.

The fire’s rapid growth Sunday triggered evacuations from employee housing and campgrounds, canceled passenger train services and shut off power to the shops, restaurants and lodging in the Nenana Canyon, a strip near the park entry known as Glitter Gulch. Power was being restored in the evenings in that area, but remained off during the day when firefighting efforts resumed.

Rangers continued to turn back day-use visitors and vehicles from the park. Park campgrounds closed Wednesday late morning.

The park wasn’t entirely empty: Four mountain climbing teams were still descending Denali on Wednesday and seven people remained in the backcountry, according to Park Service spokesman Paul Ollig. There were also about 160 people assigned to firefighting duties in the park, 120 park employees living in housing that had not been evacuated, and about 60 park personnel working the incident, some of whom live in the housing that remained open, he said.

Park officials have said that about 150 park employees did need to evacuate. Nearly 100 people sheltered at the school in Healy on Tuesday night, American Red Cross of Alaska spokeswoman Taylar Sausen said Wednesday.

[Wind-whipped wildfires north of Fairbanks trigger more evacuations and highway delays]

The Alaska Railroad for the third day suspended rail service into the park. Passengers were traveling by trail to and from Anchorage and Talkeetna and Healy and Fairbanks, with buses filling in the gaps between Talkeetna, Denali and Healy.

Cool conditions paired with cloud cover helped firefighting on Wednesday, said Beth Ipsen, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service. Crews on Wednesday were focusing on the north and south flanks of the fire, she said. An additional fire crew was arriving Wednesday night or Thursday morning to help contain the blaze, she said.

“Things are looking really good to hopefully improve and add some containment to the fire,” Ipsen said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.