U.S. Forest Service crews are fighting an approximately 2-acre forest fire, burning north of Ketchikan’s road system.
The fire started about 4 p.m. Monday on state land in the Moser Bay area, Forest Service spokesman Paul Robbins Jr. said Tuesday morning.
“We had firefighters out last night and they were out there overnight, a five-person forest service crew,” he said. “Even though it’s on state land, we’re helping with that because we still have some jurisdiction. We were also assisted by the North Tongass borough fire crew. They were in the water, spraying from there.”
Division of Forestry state forester Chris Maisch confirmed that the Forest Service is the suppression agency in the region, and referred questions about the Moser Bay fire to that agency.
Robbins said the north end of the fire has been knocked down. Crews were focusing efforts on the south end. He said additional crew members are arriving from the Chugach National Forest.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire was not yet contained.
Southern Southeast Alaska has experienced unusually dry weather this year, which has increased fire danger for the surrounding forest.
Robbins said forest fires are not that unusual in Southeast Alaska, even during a normal-rain year.
“We don’t get fires like the Lower 48, hundreds and thousands of acres like we’re seeing in California, but we’ve had over a dozen fires in Southeast Alaska this year,” he said. “They’re usually started by campers not putting out their campfires properly, not dousing them the way they should, or somebody burning trash in a barrel, and the wind picks up some of it and takes it to a nearby tree or brush that’s just dry enough to start.”
Robbins said the average size of a forest fire in Southeast Alaska is a tenth of an acre. Two acres is large for this area.
He said it’s unclear how long it will take to put out the Moser Bay fire. The crew from the Chugach will add 12 more firefighters to the five already there.
North Tongass Fire Department is offering assistance.
Tongass National Forest Facebook page is providing updates about the fire.
