No increase in fire activity is expected for the Swan Lake Fire for the remainder of the season, the Eastern Area Incident Management Team said in an update Tuesday.

The team, which has been monitoring the Swan Lake Fire, has completed 80% of its objectives as of Tuesday,and is transitioning control to a local Alaska Interagency Management Team, which will continue repair work and monitor the wildfire for any significant change in activity.

This week, crews are using helicopters to remove hoses, pumps, sprinklers and other equipment from remote locations in and around the fire area. This work is expected to be finished in the next few days. The majority of suppression repair work, including chipping brush piles and repairing containment lines, has already been completed. Within the last week the fire area received more than 2 inches of rain, which saturated the upper layers of duff on the forest floor.

According to the July 30 update, significant drying would have to occur before any increase in fire activity could take place. Some areas within the fire’s perimeter are expected to continue smoldering into the foreseeable future, but the fire has not experienced any growth in acreage since July 22. Fire managers will continue to monitor the area by air until they are certain it poses no danger to any infrastructure.

As of Monday, the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in the area has been lifted. Construction zones, fog, and smoke along the Sterling highway could continue to cause delays in traffic, and motorists can find current road conditions at http://511.alaska.gov.

Although the management team will no longer be releasing daily updates, people can still call 208-391-3488 with any questions regarding the Swan Lake Fire.

As portions of the Swan Lake Fire continue to smolder in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, new forest growth has already started sprouting near Watson Lake as seen here on July 24, 2019. (Courtesy Eastern Area Incident Management Team)