Hot, dry weather spreads interior Alaska fires

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Dry weather and warm temperatures are continuing to spread interior Alaska wildfires.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the Mississippi Fire near Delta Junction has spread to more than 56,000 acres and is threatening structures south of the Tanana River.

The Birch Creek Fire near Circle Hot Springs on Wednesday had grown to 25,000 acres.

In between them is the Caribou Creek fire along the middle of the Salcha River. Firefighters say it’s holding steady at 1,150 acres but that thick smoke is making its acreage hard to estimate.

Fire managers at the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center are warning hunters and cabin owners to avoid the area because the fire could spread quickly in the dry conditions.