Alaska Wildfires

Is anyone leaving soon? We are scheduled to fly into Anchorage June 27th and stay a few days in Seward before boarding Princess on July 1. I'm more than a little concerned that this could make for a really bad experience. Any thoughts?

The wildfire around Willow is periodically closing the Parks Highway, which runs from Anchorage to Fairbanks. The road closures are south of the road into Talkeetna but north of Wasilla. The Alaska Railroad has been running between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

The wildfire around Sterling is not impacting the road from Anchorage to Seward at all.

Much of our state is extremely dry, with all of the Interior (i.e., where Fairbanks is located) being under a red flag warning.

You'll notice hazy smokey air in Anchorage. Seward should be fine.

What about the Alaskan Rail between Anchorage and Whittier? I am scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon and take the rail (via Princess Cruise) from Captain Cook in Anchorage to the port in Whittier.

Any locals lurking on these boards or experts able to give any insight?

Thanks in advance!

What about the Alaskan Rail between Anchorage and Whittier? I am scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon and take the rail (via Princess Cruise) from Captain Cook in Anchorage to the port in Whittier.

 

Any locals lurking on these boards or experts able to give any insight?

 

Thanks in advance!

It all depends on what the winds do. Just plan on it being a bit smokey and maybe a little bit of haze. That's still 2 days away who knows for sure what will happen? I live in Anchorage and it really hasn't been too bad.

What about the Alaskan Rail between Anchorage and Whittier? I am scheduled to arrive Thursday afternoon and take the rail (via Princess Cruise) from Captain Cook in Anchorage to the port in Whittier.

 

Any locals lurking on these boards or experts able to give any insight?

 

Thanks in advance!

The fire currently on the Kenai Peninsula is far west of the Alaska Railway line from Anchorage to Whittier. While there are concerns about the fire around Sterling (which is the one on the Kenai) expanding, it is hard to believe that it will impact the actual operation of the rail line between Whittier or Seward and Anchorage. But the air could be hazy or smokey depending on wind conditions.

I wouldn't be too concerned. Most you are likely to experience is some smoke. The volume of smoke in Anchorage depends upon the wind direction moving smoke our direction, likewise the severity of either fire, the one on the Kenai (Card Street) and the one to the north (Sockeye) depends upon wind direction and velocity.

This morning we had some smoke from the Card Street fire that was mildly unpleasant, but it dissipated as the day wore on. What we are really concerned about is the dryness and heat and the possibility that we could have more fires begin, in addition to those already going and growing in size.

Down near the gulf coast at Seward you will likely experience no impact at all.

So far the railroad has not been impacted.

We are flying into Anchorage in a week, and will be driving to Girdwood for a day. Does it look like any issues with that right now? I know it's hard to predict (we've had some pretty serious wildfires in Oklahoma in the past, so I understand!), just wondering if there is currently any problem in that area.

Thanks to our Alaska residents for all the helpful info!

We are flying into Anchorage in a week, and will be driving to Girdwood for a day. Does it look like any issues with that right now? I know it's hard to predict (we've had some pretty serious wildfires in Oklahoma in the past, so I understand!), just wondering if there is currently any problem in that area.

 

Thanks to our Alaska residents for all the helpful info!

You'll notice hazy smoke in the air, but there's no impact between Anchorage and Girdwood. Both fires are way too far away to be any problem to you.