Northwest History. Alaska. Fires.

Fires Rage In Alaska: Heat Held Responsible For Both Flames And Serious Floods. FIRES RAGE IN ALASKA Heat Held Responsible for Both Flames and Serious Floods ANCHORAGE (Alaska) June 11. (UP)— Fires helped along by unseasonable heat rolled through timber areas in several parts of Alaska tonight. Both...

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Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1936
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Online Access:http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/91007
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Summary:Fires Rage In Alaska: Heat Held Responsible For Both Flames And Serious Floods. FIRES RAGE IN ALASKA Heat Held Responsible for Both Flames and Serious Floods ANCHORAGE (Alaska) June 11. (UP)— Fires helped along by unseasonable heat rolled through timber areas in several parts of Alaska tonight. Both fires and floods were reported in the upper Kuskokwim country—a sub-Arctic inland area between Anchorage and Nome. Widely separated fires were burning also far to the south, in the Alaska Panhandle around Juneau. Guards continued patrolling the Tongass National Forest in that area seeking to prevent any outbreak of flames. THREE-DAY BATTLE Volunteer fighters won a three-day battle to control a forest fire that threatened the town of Anyox, B. C. The blaze yesterday approached the edge of town and coastwise vessels stood by in Observation inlet to help evacuate the 200 inhabitants if needed. Flames also threatened the Dominion government telegraph line from Victoria to Prince Rupert. One of the more serious fires is along the East Fork of the Skagway River near Glacier Station mi the White Pass-Yukon Railroad. Juneau reports said it is out of control, sweeping up both sides of the valley on a seven-mile front. DELUGES OF WATER The hot weather served to develop fires in the highland areas ind floods in the lowlands. High temperatures melted great snow fields quickly and sent deluges of water down on several northland communities. Pilot Oscar Winchell, reporting forest fires and floods in the Kuskokwim country, said only a sharp break in the abnormal period of dry hot weather can stop them. Mountain-fed streams, such as the Sisitna, Yenta and Skwentna, are Dut of their banks, he said, and nave flooded such large tracts that he found landing places with difficulty.