Aerial attack greatly reduces fire behavior on 150-acre Loon Lake Fire

Here’s a 7 p.m. photo of the Loon Lake Fire following a ramped-up aerial assault on the 150-acre wildfire burning in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge that included water drops from two water-scooping aircraft from the BLM Alaska Fire Service and water and retardant drops from an air tanker. The water drops (red lines in photo) significantly reduced fire behavior. The retardant drops were meant to pen the fire in and give firefighters on the ground a chance to begin building containment lines. The 17-person Gannett Glacier Type 2 Initial Attack Crew has been flown into the fire and will be joined on the fireline by the Midnight Sun and Pioneer Peak hotshot crews tomorrow.