Wildfire in Alaska, July 1 to 31, 2004

Name: Wildfire in Alaska, July 1 to 31, 2004
Start: 2004-07-01T00:00
End: 2004-07-31T23:59
Location: Alaska

July 1 to 31, 2004 · NWS AFG · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Event continued from June. Wildfires began over the eastern Interior of Alaska around June 13 and continued through the summer, setting a record year for acres burned since records began in 1950.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.

Event continued from June. Wildfires began over the eastern Interior of Alaska around June 13 and continued through the summer, setting a record year for acres burned since records began in 1950. By the end of July 4.5 million acres had burned, placing the event in second place. But by the end of the fire season, nearly 6.4 million acres burned across northern Alaska; burned acreage also occurred in these zones not listed: 208, 215, 218, 217, 218, 219, 221, 223, 225, 226. Villages/Settlements Threatened from these fires: Zone 219: Bettles; Zone 220: Venetie, Central. Zone 222: Haystack Subdivision north of Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs Resort. Zone 224: Eagle/Eagle Village, Chicken, Northway. July 1: The Taylor Highway from Tok to Eagle and Dawson was fully opened. The Steese Highway remained closed. Chena Hot Springs Road, which runs from Fairbanks to Chena Hot Springs Resort, was closed at Angel Creek (a few miles from the Resort)as the Wolf Creek Fire was on both sides of the road at mile 54. June 28-July 3: Dense smoke with visibilities mostly 1/2 mile or less persisted in the Fairbanks area, causing the cancellation of all scheduled outdoor sporting activities. Air Quality Alerts were in Force the entire week - on the 28th the 2.5 micron particulate sensor maxed out at the level of 995 microgram/cubic meter- at that level the sensor turns off so the final maximum on that day is unknown. Readings the rest of the week ranged from 300 to 800 microgram/cubic meter. Normal summertime values for Fairbanks is around 10 micrograms/cubic meter. July 2: Evacuations in place for areas along the Steese and Elliot Highways due to the spread of the Boundary Fire. Steese Highway closed. One cabin lost near Chena Hot Springs from the Wolf Creek Fire. July 4: Boundary Fire: Evacuations remain in effect, this includes the Haystack Subdivision, a rural area of homes at about 15 mile Steese highway. On the Wolf Creek Fire, Flame lengths in excess of 60 feet and spotting greater than ½ mile occurred. July 6: Evansville Fire began - extreme fire behavior and rate of spread near the village of Bettles. Evacuation Order lifted for Boundary Fire (including the Haystack Subdivision and settlement of Chatanika). July 9: Waldron Creek Fire near Fort Hamlin Hills fire, near Steven's Village: One structure lost - the home of elderly residents. July 19: State of Alaska Division of Forestry reports 16 residences (all are secondary homes or recreational cabins), 2 commercial buildings, and 17 outbuildings destroyed. One outbuilding damaged. Boundary Fire forced an evacuation order (again) to the Haystack subdivision of Fairbanks. American Red Cross has set up a shelter at a Fairbanks Middle school to provide relief and meals. July 22: Total of 55 outbuildings destroyed. Boundary fire evacuation remains in effect. July 23: Boundary Fire evacuation lifted. Red Cross closed their shelter in Fairbanks.Event continued into August.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jun 30, 1:30 PM AST, 10 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 30, 1:30 PM AST, 10 hours 30 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM ADT WED JUN 30 2004

.DISCUSSION...FIRE WEATHER MAIN CONCERN FOR INTERIOR AS
EXTRA-CRITICAL PATTERN IN PLACE. STRONG UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE
WITH ABOUT 582 DM HEIGHTS CURRENTLY CENTERED OVER NW AK AND
IS FORECAST BY MODELS TO WEAKEN SLIGHTLY AND BUILD BACK TO
THE E OVER NE AK AND NRN YUKON FRI/SAT IN RESPONSE TO
MOVEMENT OF LOWS IN WRN GULF AK. THIS WILL KEEP OVERALL
WARM DRY WEATHER IN PLACE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS FOR ALL OF
FORECAST AREA. GLACIAL MELT ALSO CONTINUING HIGH LEVELS
ON TANANA RIVER NEXT SEVERAL DAYS WITH HIGH FREEZING LEVELS.

OF SPECIAL CONCERN LATER TODAY THROUGH THU MORNING IS THE
PASSAGE OF A WEAK INVERTED TROUGH/SHORT WAVE AROUND THE
RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL INTERIOR. THIS DRY TROUGH
HAS SOME COLD AIR ADVECTION BEHIND IT AND WILL INCREASE THE
ALREADY GUSTY NE-E WINDS OVER ZONES 219/220/221/222/224.
THESE WINDS SHOULD CONTINUE AT RED FLAG WARNING CRITERIA
LEVELS THROUGH THE DAY THURSDAY. WITH THE BOUNDARY FIRE
ALREADY THREATENING POPULATED AREAS NE OF FAIRBANKS...THIS
IS NOT GOOD NEWS. ALL THE OTHER FIRES THROUGHOUT THE INTERIOR
SHOULD ALSO SEE THE EFFECTS OF THESE WINDS AND LOWER RHS
THROUGH THU.

MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT THAT BY LATE FRI/SAT, AS THE RIDGE
WEAKENS AND MID/UPPER FLOW OVER CENTRAL INTERIOR BECOMES SERLY,
THAT THE SURFACE THERMAL TROUGH WILL SHIFT N OVER NRN INTERIOR.
THIS WOULD BRING A SW TO W SFC-850 MB FLOW TO THE WRN AND CENTRAL
INTERIOR, WHICH COULD HELP THE FIRE AND SMOKE SITUATION OVER
AT LEAST ZONES 222 AND 224. THIS SERLY FLOW ALOFT THOUGH COULD
ALSO BRING MORE MOISTURE/INSTABILITY FOR CONVECTION OVER THE
CENTRAL INTERIOR. CONVECTION OVER THE SHORT TERM...FOR THE NEXT
COUPLE DAYS WILL BE FOCUSED OVER THE SWRN INTERIOR...ZONES
214/215/216.

.HYDRO...HIGH WATER CONTINUES ON TANANA RIVER AT PAFA...NOT
 EXPECTED TO RISE MORE THAN A FEW MORE INCHES...NO SIGNIFICANT
 FLOOD ISSUES EXPECTED.
.FIRE WEATHER...NEXT 2-3 DAYS CRITICAL FOR INTERIOR: GUSTY
 WINDS, LOW RHS. RED FLAG WARNING ZONES 219/220/221/222/224
 THROUGH THU FOR STRONG WINDS.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...SMOKE ADVISORY ZONE 222
MARINE...

MAR JUN 04

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jun 30, 7:15 PM AST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
815 PM ADT WED JUN 30 2004

AKZ222-021600-
815 PM ADT WED JUN 30 2004

...SMOKE IN THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR WILL GRADUALLY THIN THIS
WEEKEND...

ON THURSDAY...THICK SMOKE REMAINED OVER THE INTERIOR OF NORTHERN
ALASKA...AND WAS AGAIN REPORTED AT SOME WEST COAST LOCATIONS. THE
PATTERN OF EAST WINDS HELD STEADY. PILOT REPORTS INDICATED THAT
THE SMOKE FILLED THE AIR UP TO AN ALTITUDE OF 8,000 TO 12,000
FEET...MUCH LIKE IT WAS ON WEDNESDAY.

ON THURSDAY AFTERNOON...THE FAIRBANKS WEATHER RADAR AGAIN PICKED
UP ASH CLOUDS FROM THE FOREST FIRES NEAR THE STEESE HIGHWAY AND
NORTHEAST OF CHENA HOT SPRINGS. BUT THESE WERE SMALLER THAN THEY
WERE ON THE DAY BEFORE. ON THE OTHER HAND...THE SMOKE AND ASH
CLOUD FROM THE CAMP CREEK FIRE IN THE UPPER SALCHA RIVER BASIN WAS
CONSIDERABLY LARGER AND MORE ACTIVE THAN ON WEDNESDAY. THE OUTFLOW
FROM THIS CLOUD HEADED RIGHT TOWARD FAIRBANKS IN THE EVENING.

ON FRIDAY...THE BRISK EAST WINDS THAT HAVE BEEN BLOWING OVER THE
MIDDLE TANANA VALLEY WILL DIMINISH SIGNIFICANTLY...AND SHIFT TO
THE SOUTHEAST. THE RESULT IS THAT THE HUGE AREA OF SMOKE OVER THE
INTERIOR WILL NOT MOVE VERY MUCH DURING THAT DAY. THERE IS A
SLIGHT CHANCE OF A THUNDERSTORM TOWARD EVENING. ANY RAINFALL WOULD
HELP CLEANSE SOME OF THE SMOKE FROM THE AIR.

FURTHER CHANGE IS FORECAST OVER THE WEEKEND.

ON SATURDAY...WINDS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO SHIFT TO THE SOUTHWEST
OVER THE INTERIOR. SINCE ALL OF THE LARGE ACTIVE FIRES IN ALASKA
ARE EAST AND NORTH OF FAIRBANKS...THIS PATTERN OF WINDS WILL MOVE
THE THICKEST SMOKE UP TOWARD THE YUKON FLATS. THE SKY OVER THE
MIDDLE TANANA VALLEY WILL CONTAIN SMOKE THAT HAS BEEN SETTLING FOR
A COUPLE OF DAYS. THE RESULT IS THAT THE SKY WILL NOT BE SO MURKY.

ON SUNDAY...THE SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL PICK UP SOME IN SPEED. THIS
WILL HASTEN THE PROCESS OF REMOVING THE SMOKE FROM THE WESTERN AND
SOUTHERN INTERIOR. THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSHOWERS ON
BOTH SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. THESE WOULD HELP REDUCE THE SMOKE IN THE
AIR.

AS IS USUALLY THE CASE...THE SMOKE FROM LARGE OUTBREAKS OF ALASKA
FOREST FIRES BUILDS UP QUICKLY...AND CLEARS MUCH MORE SLOWLY. BUT
THE EVENTUAL OUTCOMES...BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS AND MUCH AWAITED
SUNSHINE...ARE INEVITABLE.

TF JUN 04

Special weather statement, Jun 30, 9:50 PM AST, 2 hours 10 minutes before

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
1050 PM ADT WED JUN 30 2004

AKZ222-012000-
1050 PM ADT WED JUN 30 2004

...A BREAK IN THE SMOKE AND GLOOM IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN SATURDAY...

ON WEDNESDAY...THICK SMOKE BLANKETED NEARLY ALL OF THE INTERIOR OF
NORTHERN ALASKA...FROM THE SOUTH SLOPES OF THE BROOKS RANGE DOWN
TO THE ALASKA RANGE. EVEN SOME WEST COAST LOCATIONS SUCH AS
KOTZEBUE PICKED UP SOME OF THE SMOKE. WEATHER SATELLITE PICTURES
SHOWED THE SMOKE CLOUD MOVING FARTHER WEST...CLEAR ACROSS BERING
STRAIT INTO THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST. THE SMOKE WAS SO THICK IN PARTS
OF THE EASTERN INTERIOR THAT AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES BARELY MADE IT
TO 70 DEGREES AT SOME LOCATIONS. NENANA HAD A HIGH OF ONLY 60
DEGREES.

ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON...THE FAIRBANKS WEATHER RADAR PICKED UP A
CLOUD OF ASH ALOFT TO THE NORTHEAST OF TOWN. THIS ORIGINATED OVER
THE FIRES AND MOVED OUT OVER THE CITY IN THE EARLY EVENING HOURS.
BY 9 PM THE CLOUD OF ASH HAD MOVED TO THE SOUTHWEST AND WAS FADING
FROM THE RADAR SCREEN AS IT THINNED.

ON THURSDAY...WEDNESDAYS PATTERN WILL NOT CHANGE. THE WIND FLOW
IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO THE FUTURE LOCATION OF THE FIRES
AND OF THE SMOKE. THE EAST WINDS OVER MUCH OF THE ALASKA REGION
WILL HOLD STEADY ON THURSDAY...SO THE THICK PALL OF SMOKE OVER THE
AREA WILL HOLD THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT.

ON FRIDAY...THE WINDS OVER THE MIDDLE TANANA VALLEY WILL DROP OFF
IN SPEED AND BEGIN SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST. SO BY LATE
AFTERNOON...THE GLOOM OF MORNING WILL FADE AS THE SMOKE BEGINS
THINNING AND DRIFTING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST.

ON FRIDAY NIGHT...THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF A THUNDERSHOWER. IF
THERE IS ANY RAINFALL...THIS WILL HELP CLEANSE SOME OF THE SMOKE
FROM THE AIR.

ON SATURDAY...SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL SET IN OVER THE FAIRBANKS
REGION. THESE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY CARRY THE SMOKE AWAY...TOWARD
THE NORTHEAST INTERIOR AND THE NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY...AND THE
SUNSHINE AND BLUE SKY OF SUMMER WILL FINALLY RETURN BY EVENING.

TF JUN 04

Event by event

3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Middle Tanana Valley

When: July 1, 12:00 AM AST to July 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Middle Tanana Valley forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Wildfire, Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile

When: July 1, 12:00 AM AST to July 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Wildfire, Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands

When: July 1, 12:00 AM AST to July 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, July 2004

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5412937, 5412938, 5412939.