The Anchorage Alaska area which has been experiencing the first extreme drought in it’s history, is now struggling with the impacts of three large wildfires burning out of control.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Friday issued a disaster declaration for the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula boroughs to provide aid to those who have been affected by wildfires there.
Five major wildfires burning across the two boroughs — most ignited over the past week — have consumed thousands of acres of land, closed arterial highways and prompted evacuation orders for nearby communities.
The most destructive of the fires, the 3,753-acre McKinley fire burning between Willow and the Talkeetna cutoff, has destroyed 51 homes, three businesses and 84 outbuildings in its rapid spread, Mat-Su Borough officials said Friday. The Swan Lake fire, which at more than 144,000 acres is the largest of the Southcentral fires, has been burning for almost three months and is now within 5 miles of both Sterling and Cooper Landing.
For many of those who lost their homes, the unwelcome news did not come as a surprise, said Ken Barkley, director of emergency services for the borough. Barkley has estimated the number of evacuees at 350 to 400.
Coughing, breathing issues, sore eyes: As wildfire smoke cloaks Anchorage, people feel its effects
By Annie Zak
At Providence Medical Group in Anchorage, pulmonologist Dr. Greg Gerboth has noticed an uptick in the number of people calling since last weekend with respiratory health concerns.
Some have been coughing more than usual or have increased shortness of breath, he said.
For the first time in recorded history, Anchorage enters "extreme drought"