Dry Conditions Have Alaska Wildfire Responders Keeping Eye Out

Interior Alaska and other parts of the state are experiencing conditions ripe for forest fires and natural resources officials are urging caution in outdoor activities heading into Memorial Day Weekend.

Information officer Tim Mowry of the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center says trees may be green with leaves but grasses below remain brown and dry.

He says that grass can easily ignite. With low humidity and temperatures reaching the low 80s, conditions are perfect for sparking a wildfire.

Mowry says the same weather system is drying out southcentral Alaska and even making coastal rainforest on the Panhandle susceptible to forest fire.

Twenty-seven wildfires this year have burned five square miles.

One of the latest doubled Wednesday to 40 acres along the Alaska Highway 50 miles northwest of the Canada border.