McHugh fire: Seward Highway remains open as fire officials hope for rain

July 20--Growth of the wildfire near McHugh Creek slowed Wednesday, with more than 250 firefighters committed or requested to help contain the fire that burned about a mile away from Potter Valley and Rainbow Valley, according to the Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team.

The fire was burning an estimated 842 acres. The increased acreage -- up from an earlier 500 to 600 acres -- was due to better mapping, said a statement Wednesday evening from the management team. Two-lane traffic had resumed on the Seward Highway by Tuesday evening as fire crews battled the blaze in the mountains above the roadway.

McHugh Fire incident commander Tom Kurth said at a press conference Wednesday morning that the fire was concentrated in the McHugh Valley with a "finger of fire" creeping southeast toward the Rainbow Valley. Another leg of the fire moved slowly northwest overnight Tuesday, up McHugh Valley toward the Potter Valley area.

"There's been minimal growth today," said Sarah Saarloos, a state Division of Forestry spokeswoman.

Saarloos said firefighters focused Wednesday on holding that northern perimeter of the fire, keeping the flames away from homes in Potter Valley with the help of aircraft, including helicopters that pulled water from the Turnagain Arm, dumping it onto the fire.

When the fire did spread Wednesday, it did so toward the Seward Highway, Saarloos said, but crews were able to quickly control to the flare ups. "So not a lot of movement today," she said.

One wild card factor going into Thursday was wind. For days, the wind has blown in from the northwest, sending the flames and smoke southward. However, the National Weather Service said Wednesday that the winds were expected to shift to the southeast overnight, likely sending smoke into Anchorage.

"Any sort of wind shift is always a concern," Saarloos said. "That's why we have an extra effort with the air resources."

On Wednesday, roughly 150 firefighters, from smokejumpers to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson crews, were battling the blaze. One-hundred firefighters requested from five hotshot crews from Lake Tahoe were expected to arrive in Anchorage Wednesday afternoon, and should join the fight against the blaze Thursday morning.

Kurth said the cause of the fire was still under investigation Wednesday, but he suspected it was human-caused, because the area is popular for recreation.

The latest maps showed the fire was holding steady at about 1.3 miles from Rainbow Valley and 1.1 miles from Potter Marsh. Several mountain ridges separated homes in both Rainbow and Potter Valley from the flames, Kurth said.

By late Wednesday afternoon, no evacuations had been ordered. Kurth described a "ready-set-go" communication formula. "Ready" means a threat is in the area. "Set" means the threat is increasing, and "go" means a threat is imminent, Kurth said.

At this point, homeowners are advised to be in "ready" mode.

A Wednesday update on the fire from the official Alaska Wildland Fire Information blog said crews were assessing structures in Potter Valley and working to protect infrastructure along the Seward Highway, including power lines and the railroad.

Anchorage Fire Department Fire Marshal Cleo Hill said 13 AFD firefighters, operating two engines and two tenders as well as brush, medic and supervisor units, were on standby to conduct structure protection if called upon.

Some Alaskans living on the Hillside, including Potter Valley, prepared Wednesday to leave their homes if the fire crossed a mountain ridge and spread into their neighborhood.

Nancy Pease, former chair of the Rabbit Creek Community Council, said she and her son spent about four hours packing the family's truck this week with photographs, jewelry and important documents, like insurance forms, wills and passports, as well as computers. She also packed small family mementos, like a book from her great-grandmother, she said.

"What one realizes is it's all stuff and a lot of it is expensive, it all adds up, but it could be replaced, like Xtratuf boots and so forth," Pease said.

Kurth said that while much larger fires are burning elsewhere in Alaska, the McHugh fire is unusual for its steep terrain, coastal environment and proximity to the Anchorage area and traffic.

"This is 10 times harder country to fight in," Kurth said.

Alaska Division of Forestry spokesman Tim Mowry said the fire's behavior early Wednesday repeated the pattern from Tuesday.

"It acted up this morning again, and it was doing the same thing it was doing yesterday morning -- burning along the road, with debris coming down along the road," Mowry said. "The highway remains open."

Pease said she was frustrated that the neighborhood had not received more frequent updates about the fire, including the likelihood of an evacuation and consistent updates about how far flames were from the nearest structure.

"Informing residents have been totally inadequate," said Pease, who lives on Villages Scenic Parkway, off the winding Potter Valley Road.

Pease said her neighbors' reactions to the fire varied. One of her neighbors had rented a U-Haul and started loading up his valuables while her other neighbor had not packed a thing. "I attribute that to a lack of information available," she said.

Pease said she has lived in her Hillside home for more than a decade, and has always known that the McHugh Creek area posed a threat, especially the heavily-used picnic area. She described it as, "the sword of Damocles, the danger lurking right over the hill."

Anchorage police dispatchers advised drivers to "proceed with caution" in the area.

Highway webcams showed traffic flowing normally despite heavy smoke from the wildfire, though pullouts from McHugh Creek recreation area to Rainbow were blocked off to the public starting around 11 a.m.

Shannon McCarthy, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, also said the highway is expected to remain open throughout Wednesday. Flaggers are still staged near the fire in case authorities need to implement a new lane restriction or closure.

Kurth said at the Wednesday-morning briefing that they were counting on rain in their firefighting strategy, after Anchorage hit a record-high temperature of 79 degrees Tuesday, based on readings taken at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

The National Weather Service forecast for Turnagain Arm called for mostly cloudy conditions with a high of 72 degrees Wednesday, with a 30 percent chance of rain Wednesday evening rising to 80 percent by Thursday evening.

Currently, fire officials are opting for a defensive strategy that isn't focused on containment.

"It is just wearing our fire crews out that are trying to go direct on the edge there," Kurth said.

Officials would look at switching to more of an offensive attack with wetter weather and the additional reinforcements, he said.

Fire officials declined donations offered by Alaskans to help fire crews, instead directing them to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

A community meeting on the fire will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at South Anchorage High School, Kurth said.

Get information about the fire and about highway closures at akfireinfo.com or by calling 907-343-4701.

Devin Kelly contributed information to this story.

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