Moose Creek Fire south of Sutton 178 acres

Moose Creek Fire, mile 56 Glenn Highway—Matanuska-Susitna Borough firefighters are assisting the Alaska Division of Forestry on a fire in gusty winds that has grown to some 178 acres south of Sutton.

The fire location is near the Moose Creek Campground, some 12 miles north of Palmer City and 5 miles south of Sutton.

A vicinity map is posted here.

View a video of the fire from early this morning, provided by Norm McDonald, Fire Management Officer for Alaska Division of Forestry, Dept. of Natural Resources.

Last night fierce winds gusted through the Matanuska Valley and are not expected to stop for the next three days. Winds are holding at 15 to 30 mph and are forecasted to pick up to 35 mph by tonight and Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Skies are sunny with isolated snow showers forecasted for Monday afternoon

Two helicopters were ordered to assist this morning said McDonald. Some Forestry personnel were being called to duty late in the season for this unusual October fire.

Firefighters from Sutton, Palmer, and Butte fire departments have been assisting Forestry, which took command of the Moose Creek Fire at 8 am this morning. Additional resources have been ordered from Forestry offices in Fairbanks, Glennallen, and from the Alaska Fire Service in Fairbanks and Chugach National Forest in Moose Pass, reports Tim Mowry with the Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources.

Two homes are near the fire, but structure protection is in place, reports McDonald. An evacuation notice (not an order) was given to the Palmer Correctional Center at mile 58 of the Glenn Highway. Five buses are staged there for prisoner evacuation if needed.

McDonald said the air is smoky at the highway but traffic is moving. An edge of the fire is a couple hundred feet from the highway, he said. Drivers please slow down and be alert for firefighting equipment on the road.

Fire officials are asking Mat-Su residents to delay any burning during these winds. Please be careful with any fire right now.

Patty Sullivan, PIO, Mat-Su Borough, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For ongoing info visit http://www.akfireinfo.com