TYONEK, Alaska (AP) - A spokesman for the Alaska Division of Forestry says a wind-driven wildfire has burned to within about two miles of the village of Tyonek on the northwest shore of Cook Inlet.
The fire started Monday afternoon. By evening, more than 50 firefighters and an air tanker were battling it.
While the Chuitna River separates the fire from the village, the Anchorage Daily News reports that Forestry spokesman Norm McDonald says spots of fire have jumped the river. KTUU-TV reports McDonald estimated that fire had burned about 200 acres by late Monday night.
Village President Al Goozmer said no homes were threatened as of Monday night. Still, his family planned to sleep at a fish camp more than a mile away. Forestry officials have not called for an evacuation.
Competing for firefighting resources is the Funny River fire burning about two miles east of the Soldotna airport. McDonald tells KTUU that fast-moving fire was estimated to have burned across 1 ½ square miles by Monday night - or about 1,000 acres.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.