Wildfire in Alaska, March 18 to 20, 2005

Name: Wildfire in Alaska, March 18 to 20, 2005
Start: 2005-03-18T10:00
End: 2005-03-20T20:00
Location: Alaska

March 18 to 20, 2005 · NWS AJK · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 11

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 AJK wrote it up.

Red flag warning conditions developed behind a late season dry arctic front. The offshore, downslope flow and extremely dry atmosphere (dewpoints near zero) combined with sufficiently dry flashy fuels (grasses) near sea level to heighten the wildfire danger throughout Southeast Alaska. A total of five small grass fires (1 acre or less) were reported in the Haines, Juneau and Wrangell areas. No damage nor injuries occurred though our fire departments were called into action for grass fires about month earlier than normal.

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 Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 18, 6:30 AM AST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 18, 6:30 AM AST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
630 AM AST FRI MAR 18 2005

.SHORT RANGE...CURRENTLY A BROAD TROUGH ALOFT IS GENERATING
SOME HIGH SCATTERED TO BROKEN CLOUDS OVER NORTHWEST CANADA.
THESE CLOUDS DISSIPATE AS THEY MOVE SOUTHWEST INTO NORTHERN
AND CENTRAL SOUTHEAST ALASKA. SKIES ARE GENERALLY CLEAR TO
PARTLY CLOUDY OVER THE ENTIRE REGION.

MODELS SHOW BROAD INVERTED UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS NOW OVER THE
INNER CHANNELS OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA MOVING SOUTHWEST TO LIE
OFFSHORE OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF ALASKA LATER THIS MORNING.
THIS WILL ALLOW THE BROAD ARCTIC SURFACE HIGH OVER THE
CENTRAL YUKON AND NORTHWEST TERRITORIES TO MOVE SOUTH TO LIE
OVER THE SOUTHERN YUKON AND NORTH BRITISH COLUMBIA TONIGHT
THROUGH SATURDAY. UPPER LEVEL LOW MOVING SOUTHWEST FROM
CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA WILL INTENSIFY A SURFACE LOW ON THE
SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH
TONIGHT. THIS LOW WILL COMBINE WITH THE BIG HIGH DROPPING FROM
THE NORTH TO PRODUCE STRONG GUSTY WINDS TO 40 OR 45 MPH OVER
MUCH OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA LATER THIS MORNING THROUGH TONIGHT.

THE UPPER LOW WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHWEST OFF THE
SOUTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST SATURDAY. THIS WILL STEER A
NEW AND STRONGER LOW FROM THE EASTERN PACIFIC TOWARD THE
BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST SATURDAY. THIS WILL MAINTAIN WINDY
CONDITIONS THROUGH SATURDAY...HOWEVER...BECAUSE OF THE HIGH
WEAKENING TO THE NORTH...WIND GUSTS SATURDAY WILL NOT BE
QUITE AS STRONG. SKIES WILL CONTINUE CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY
OVER THE ENTIRE REGION THROUGH SATURDAY.

TEMPERATURES WILL DROP WELL BELOW FREEZING OVER MUCH OF THE
REGION ESPECIALLY IN WIND SHELTERED AREAS OVERNIGHT...HOWEVER...
DURING THE DAY...WINDS DOWNSLOPING ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS FROM
THE EAST AND NORTHEAST COUPLED WITH A HIGHER SUN ANGLE WILL
ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO RECOVER INTO THE 30S DURING THE DAY
TODAY AND AGAIN SATURDAY.

.LONG RANGE...GFS 5 WAVE CONTINUES TO SHOW A NEGATIVELY TILTED
OMEGA BLOCK IN THE GULF WITH ITS EASTERN LOW OVER WESTERN CANADA
THROUGH SUN. THIS WILL BRING ARCTIC AIR INTO SE AK. THEN THE LOW
WILL SHIFT TO THE GULF AS THE HIGH MOVES EAST OVER THE ARCTIC
OCEAN SUN NIGHT THROUGH TUE NIGHT. THEN THE ARCTIC HIGH WILL
CONNECT TO ANOTHER RIDGE OVER WESTERN CANADA WHICH WILL BRING SE
AK UNDER WARMER MOISTER SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WED THROUGH FRI.

STRONG COLD DRY OUTFLOW FROM THE INTERIOR WILL CONTINUE SAT NIGHT
AND START TO SLACK OFF SUN AS A LOW MOVES NORTHWEST OUT OF THE
INTERIOR. GFS IS STRONGER WITH THE LOW THAN ETA BUT TIMING IS
CLOSE WITH LOW OVER CENTRAL QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLAND BY SUN
AFTERNOON.

BY MON MORNING THE LOW WILL WEAKEN AS IT MOVES TO 140W...BUT
MODELS ARE FURTHER APART ON THE LATITUDE LOCATION OF THE LOW AND
THE STRENGTH. WILL USE THE GFS GRIDS BUT TONE DOWN THE WINDS
ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW.

AN ASSOCIATED FRONT WILL MOVE NORTH THROUGH THE PANHANDLE
STALLING OUT IN THE NORTH. ETA IME SECTIONS SHOW A POSSIBLE
CHANGE TO RAIN IN THE FAR SOUTHERN PANHANDLE BUT SNOW UP TO
PETERSBURG-WRANGELL. MOST LIKELY DRY NORTH OF THERE SUN NIGHT.
THE SNOW WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE MON. A SECOND
FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE MON NIGHT. 850MB
TEMPS WILL WARM TO -8C IN THE NORTH AND REMAIN ABOUT -8C TO -10C
THERE THROUGH TUE NIGHT.

THEN DRY AIR WILL ONCE AGAIN MORE LIGHTLY FLOW OUT OF THE
INTERIOR WITH A FORECAST BREAK IN THE WEATHER WED NIGHT THROUGH
FRI FOR THE PANHANDLE. YAKUTAT WILL BE ON THE EDGE OF WEATHER
ASSOCIATED WITH A SURFACE LOW EXTENDING FROM SOUTHWEST AK THROUGH
THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...WIND ADVISORIES ZONES..18..19..20..21..22.. 23..24..25..
26..27..28..29

MARINE...GALE WARNING...
           INSIDE WATERS PKZ012-013-021-022-031-032-033-036
           OUTSIDE WATERS PKZ041-042

Event by event

11 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island

When: March 18, 10:00 AM AST to March 19, 4:00 PM AST
Where: Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island forecast zone
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD

Wildfire, Glacier Bay

When: March 18, 12:00 PM AST to March 20, 1:00 PM AST
Where: Glacier Bay forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Cape Decision to Salisbury Sound Coastal Area

When: March 18, 12:00 PM AST to March 19, 7:00 PM AST
Where: Cape Decision to Salisbury Sound Coastal Area forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island

When: March 18, 12:00 PM AST to March 20, 8:00 PM AST
Where: Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island forecast zone
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD

Wildfire, Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision Coastal Area

When: March 18, 12:00 PM AST to March 19, 6:00 PM AST
Where: Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision Coastal Area forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When: March 18, 1:00 PM AST to March 20, 6:00 PM AST
Where: Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Eastern Baranof Island and Southern Admiralty Island

When: March 18, 2:30 PM AST to March 19, 3:00 PM AST
Where: Eastern Baranof Island and Southern Admiralty Island forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area

When: March 18, 3:00 PM AST to March 20, 1:00 PM AST
Where: Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Eastern Chichagof Island

When: March 18, 5:00 PM AST to March 19, 2:00 PM AST
Where: Eastern Chichagof Island forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Southern Inner Channels

When: March 18, 7:00 PM AST to March 19, 6:00 PM AST
Where: Southern Inner Channels forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Wildfire, Haines Borough and Lynn Canal

When: March 20, 6:00 AM AST to 2:00 PM AST
Where: Haines Borough and Lynn Canal forecast zone
Reported by: FIRE DEPT/RESCUE SQUAD

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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, March 2005

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: 5436944, 5436938, 5436941, 5436943, 5436945, 5436936, 5436942, 5436940, 5436939, 5436946, 5436937.