Deshka Landing Fire was a wildfire that burned five miles southwest of

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its county seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. The borough is part of ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The fire started on August 17, 2019 and burned .

Fire

August

The Deshka Landing Fire was reported on August 17, 2019, around 8:00 p.m., five miles southwest of

Willow, Alaska Willow is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located 26 miles northwest from Wasilla along the George Parks Highway, it is part of the Anchorage, Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. At t ...

. On August 23, the Northwest Incident Management Team reported that high winds grew the fire to and it was 15 percent contained. Firefighters began protecting homes around Red Shirt Lake. Nancy Lake State Recreation Area was closed to the public and a

Temporary Flight Restriction The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). A wide variety ...

was put in place over the fire area. The following day, a private aircraft violated the temporary flight restriction. By August 26, the fire was mapped appropriately and the Incident Management Team reported the fire's footprint was actually and it was 40 percent contained. Two firefighters were injured: one suffered a leg burn by stepping in an

ash pit An ash pit is a remnant of a wildfire. It is a hole in the ground filled with ash, possibly containing hot embers beneath. It is one of the many hazards faced by those fighting wildfires. It is also a danger to residents and their pets returning ...

and the other, a foreign object in the eye. A portion of the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area was reopened to the public. As of August 31, the fire had burned and was 90 percent contained.

September

As of the first of the month, Northwest Incident Management Team stated that the fire was caused by a human. As of September 8, the fire had burned and was 95 percent contained. The Temporary Flight Restriction was lifted that day. On September 9, the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area was fully reopened to the public and hunters.

Impact

The fire caused the closure of the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area for two weeks, impacting hunting season.

References

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Deshka Landing Fire Wildfires in Alaska 2019 in Alaska Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska 2019 wildfires in the United States