You might want to rethink your Alaska ride this summer

[rodekyll]

78,000 acres burned in the Alaska fires so far this season.  Entire communities evacuated.  It's so bad that the emergency folks have decided to call in evacuated families for private news about their homes.  There are enough affected people that they've reserved six hours for the individual notifications and have mental health and grief counselors in the rooms.

Willow, outside of Fairbanks, has been evacuated.  This is the mushdog center of the world with many homesteads housing 30 or more dogs.  In some cases things happened too fast to do a proper doggie evacuation, or the owners were trapped on the other side of the fires.  Rescuers were forced to unchain dogs and turn them loose to fend for themselves.  There are literally thousands of panicked, confused, famished wolf breeds loose in the fires.  The recovery effort will be immense.

One fire on the Kenai is currently the #1 blaze on the continent.  This is the same area that had the #1 blaze last year.  The US and Canadian hotshot teams have landed and over 1000 firefighters are on the lines for just this wildfire.

None of the fires are under control and continuing lighting strikes are starting new fires every day.  Much of the interior road system is either closed completely or requiring pilot cars to guide vehicles through, and chase rigs to rescue those who don't make it.

I have been stopped by fires up here in the past.  Three days in Watson Lake one year because the town was cut off completely.  The hotels were stuffed of course, and the community center and churches were changed over to travel centers.  When we did get to travel they loaded bikes on flatbeds and carried them through the fire zone. 

This time, with major fires at Delta Junction, Fairbanks, and the Kenai, and minor fires at points between, there is really no place in Alaska you can 'go' with an open vehicle like a bike.  I've cancelled my plan to hit the interior next week.  maybe next month . .  . .

[Yeahoo Whoyah]

Terrible news, sad situation. 

[Dean Rose]

http://afsmaps.blm.gov/imf_fire/imf.jsp?site=fire

[bad Chad]

Global climate change in screwing up reginal climates all over earth.  It just sucks, and sucks bad.   Good luck to our northern most state, you like the rest of us are going to needed it.

[Stormtruck2]

Sad to read this RK. Is there no good news in the world today?

[SmokyBC]

Oh crap!  I'm leaving for Alaska in the morning.   

Taking the GTL, with the wife. I've been before, it's a wonderful place, this is my wife's first trip.

Was planning on entering AK via the Top Of The World road.

I have a brother in Whitehorse, I guess we will have to see how the situation develops.

[rodekyll]

http://www.511yukon.ca/
This is the map of Yukon road conditions.

http://511.alaska.gov/alaska511/mappingcomponent
Here is the Alaska equivalent.

I have not heard of any problems along the top-of-the world.  However there have been some severe washouts between the Richardson pavement end and Boundary on the Alaska side.  Canada has 'fixed' their side, but the result is a layer of loose marbles on hardpan -- a real sphincter clencher for about 4 hours.  Keep in mind that the road crews are on the fire lines, so in some places road repair and improvement is on hold at whatever stage it's in.

Keep track of the maps.  It looks like you could do a loop from Whitehorse -> Dawson City -> Chicken -> Tok -> Beaver/Kluanie -> Whitehorse.  I wouldn't head south or west from Tok right now.

[lucydad]

Rode,

Such sad news to hear my beloved Great Land is burning.  I planned a June trip, but cancelled due to just too many moving parts in my life. 

My memories of summer in Alaska-- about six weeks clear weather late May-June, then rain until October, turning to snow.  Termination dust.  Never, ever saw a forest fire in the nearly four years I lived in Anchor-town:  1981-84.  Crap. 

[canuck750]

I hope the fires are no where near the Dempster this summer, I am heading up to Inuvik on my KLR on Aug 10th. Last time I rode the Top of The World the smoke was blocking out all views, very disappointing and the air quality was terrible.

[SmokyBC]

Hey Canuck,

I see you are from Edmonton, my Eldorado came from there.

I also ride a BMW and a KLR.

Someday we will meet.

Smoky

[Penderic]

Takes years for a forest to regrow after a fire.



 

[tiger_one]

I was up there in 2012, fresh fruit in Tok was special.  Our weather this year is a mess to say the least.  Really sorry for the people that live up there, and the dogs.

[canuck750]

Hey Canuck,

I see you are from Edmonton, my Eldorado came from there.

I also ride a BMW and a KLR.

Someday we will meet.

Smoky

Small world, Guzzi guys have great taste in motorcycle and most everything else

Where are you located?

[SmokyBC]

Canuck,

I'm in Salmon Arm.

Bike's packed, we're outta here!

[rodekyll]

Smoky -- remember tha the dust-2-dawson is happening over the solstice.  If you hang out there you'll get a fender sticker for your bike.

Dawson:



Top of the world:

[JeffOlson]

My youngest son, Aaron, has just been called up to fight the fires in Alaska. He is a college student during the school year and fights forest fires in the summer. He departs from Oregon for Alaska tomorrow morning about 4 am.

He is actually excited and looking forward to the adventure.

[tiger_one]

Oh to be young again.  God's speed to him.

[rodekyll]

We appreciate his enthusiasm!  I hope he finds the adventure he's looking for with none of the downsides that sometimes happen in a fire zone.  I was on the fire lines in Yellowstone in the 70s.  Big adventure for sure. 

We've lost more than 55 homes so far in one fire.  They know there are more gone but they can't get in to the burn area yet to confirm them.  None of our fires are contained yet and more keep sprouting and merging as lightning storms pass over the interior.

I was out last night taking midnight pics (the smoke of distant fires makes for interesting colors in the sky) and a carload of adults pulled up asking if I minded them shooting off fireworks.  I said I had two problems with it -- one was that there's a state burn ban on and aside from the obvious, it's disrespectful to the boys on the line to be deliberately irresponsible with fire during this time.  Also, I was taking pictures here, and I wasn't planning on fireworks in the shots.  Someone inside the vehicle yelled hostilly "Who the F- is that butting in to tell us what we can't do?"  I said "I'm the guy with the .44 that was minding my own business when you interrupted me to ask my opinion."

They left.

[JeffOlson]

We appreciate his enthusiasm!  I hope he finds the adventure he's looking for with none of the downsides that sometimes happen in a fire zone.  I was on the fire lines in Yellowstone in the 70s.  Big adventure for sure. 

We've lost more than 55 homes so far in one fire.  They know there are more gone but they can't get in to the burn area yet to confirm them.  None of our fires are contained yet and more keep sprouting and merging as lightning storms pass over the interior.

I was out last night taking midnight pics (the smoke of distant fires makes for interesting colors in the sky) and a carload of adults pulled up asking if I minded them shooting off fireworks.  I said I had two problems with it -- one was that there's a state burn ban on and aside from the obvious, it's disrespectful to the boys on the line to be deliberately irresponsible with fire during this time.  Also, I was taking pictures here, and I wasn't planning on fireworks in the shots.  Someone inside the vehicle yelled hostilly "Who the F- is that butting in to tell us what we can't do?"  I said "I'm the guy with the .44 that was minding my own business when you interrupted me to ask my opinion."

They left.

Ah, "adults." It is shocking how some adults really are a special kind of stupid. I thought those people only existed in the lower 48! 

Aaron is gung-ho. He's done this before, is in great physical condition, and wants to be a fireman someday. This is good experience for him. Plus, he will get to see Alaska at a young age!

[rodekyll]

He will see Alaska like no tourist ever did.   

[SmokyBC]

I'm in Ft. Nelson, on my way up. No smoke or fires in this area, but my brother in Whitehorse reports lots of smoke in that area.

The adventure continues...

[balvenie]

Penderic,
That is a compelling picture.

[rodekyll]

Ah, "adults." It is shocking how some adults really are a special kind of stupid. I thought those people only existed in the lower 48! 

Aaron is gung-ho. He's done this before, is in great physical condition, and wants to be a fireman someday. This is good experience for him. Plus, he will get to see Alaska at a young age!

Did Aaron get to Alaska in time for the 6.0 earthquake in the Willow fire zone?

[rodekyll]

We've past 950 square MILES of burn now with no good news on the fire lines of about 300 blazes.  Two more communities evacuated and more threatened.  I hope Aaron likes to keep busy.

[JeffOlson]

Aaron left this morning at 4 AM. I don't know if he's there yet. I am awaiting word...

I just heard: he is there, in Fairbanks.

[rodekyll]

   That will probably put him on the Sockeye fire that's burning up the town of Willow.  They need to rotate some of the crews out for a rest.

Friends in FBKS tell me the air is hard to breathe.  It didn't stop one from his 1:AM tee time though.  The midnight sun is a marvelous thing.

There is a cold front coming in from the NW.  It's already got us raining and we're hoping for a lot of it in the fire areas.

[motrhead]

Just got  back from doing the Dempster on my Stelvio. Left Tombstone Park at km 72 of the Dempster on Tuesday morning to head back to the Kootenays...girlfri end left there because of the smoke on Wednesday afternoon. I did see a fair bit of smoke heading for Watson Lake, but not the choking kind. It was still not choking thick...but it was choking thick with BMW GSs...lol

[Yukonica]

Just got  back from doing the Dempster on my Stelvio. Left Tombstone Park at km 72 of the Dempster on Tuesday morning to head back to the Kootenays...girlfri end left there because of the smoke on Wednesday afternoon. I did see a fair bit of smoke heading for Watson Lake, but not the choking kind. It was still not choking thick...but it was choking thick with BMW GSs...lol

Met a fellow forum member on his Stelvio on his way up to Dawson.
Tag: Motorhead. 2 Stelvio in the territory at once; you are becoming positively common.
Did you go past Eagle Plains and on up? There was a report a grizzly has taken to chasing two wheeled tourists; be they bike or bicycle.
GS's are dime a dozen around D2D. Seeing quite a few more Suzuki's this year. My personal favourites are the big-a-- baggers "headed to the Dalton Trail" I often wonder how many times does he and several friends have to pick that bike up before they understand it wasn't designed for that purpose? Maybe they carry a mini jack-all.

[motrhead]

Hey Yukonica, was cool to meet you. There were three Stelvios at the D2D in Dawson! Crazy! I had never seen another one in the flesh until that meeting. Three out of 300 bikes...guess that makes us 1%ers? LOL
 Yes, I went past Eagle Plains, and all the way up. I blew past about 15 guys , mostly on GSs. Didn't have any bear encounters other than seeing a couple black bears, but I did see a caribou, a black fox, a grey fox and a mink. (As well as a young bull moose and a red fox further south.) I had the entire road to myself after Eagle Plains as all the BMW guys stayed there overnight. I continued on to Inuvik, hung out for 2 hours and turned around and came home. Awesome trip!

[rodekyll]

I run a big bagger up for the D2D and over the river to Tok as a matter of routine.  Haven't had to pick it up yet, but my kid (jackal) and I (EV) helped pick up a tumbled GS 1150 on one run.