How are the wildfires affecting Alaska travel?

[lucky cal]

We will be heading to Anchorage later this month for a DIY land tour followed by a southbound cruise. We will be traveling by rental car from Anchorage to Seward, Talkeetna and Denali, then will return to Anchorage to catch the train to Whittier for our cruise.

 

For those of you who have returned recently, how are the wildfires impacting travel within the state, and how bad is the smoke in the above locations?

 

Thanks.

[xlxo]

There is also smoke in Vancouver now....

• http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2230425
  
• http://www.cknw.com/2015/07/05/hazy/
  

[diesel1973]

Am up in Alaska now. Just returned to Anchorage from Talkeetnas exciting July 4th Moose Dropping Drop. No fires going on there but passed some burnt out areas on the way there. Will be going to Seward this weekend for fishing and am unaware of fires down there. Have read there are still fires burning in the Denali area and they are letting them burn out. Hope this helps.;););)

[Putterdude]

There is some very serious smoke in the southern Georgia Straight region however hopefully the fires will be extinguished and the wind scoured out the smoke before you get here.

[AKStafford]

Spent the weekend on the Kenai Peninsula (Soldotna, Kasilof, Cooper Landing) and you will have zero impact. The fires that are near civilization are under control.

It's still very dry, so there are various burn bans in effect.

[frugaltravel]

They're not :)

[watertraveler]

When we were there 2 weeks ago, the fires caused road closures. As we were on the train going up to Talkeetna, we were okay but it did get very close and we went through a lot of smoky areas. There was some discussion about whether we would have to take evasive action for our bus ride back to Seward.

 

Our guide told us they had to put a group going back to Anchorage on small planes along with their baggage because the road going south was closed.

 

We were fine on that end but be mindful of the construction going on just about everywhere. The road goes down to 1 lane while the other has to wait. You could be delayed for quite some time. There is a web site you can go to (which of course I can't remember!) that will show you where they are doing construction. That might help with your planning.

 

Good luck!

[AKStafford]

When we were there 2 weeks ago, the fires caused road closures.

We were fine on that end but be mindful of the construction going on just about everywhere. The road goes down to 1 lane while the other has to wait. You could be delayed for quite some time. There is a web site you can go to (which of course I can't remember!) that will show you where they are doing construction. That might help with your planning.

 

Good luck!

As mentioned, the fires were an issue a few weeks ago. Things are fine now. As watertraveler pointed out, your bigger issue will be allowing time for construction.

The websites for road updates:

http://511.alaska.gov

http://www.alaskanavigator.org/

[mek]

We experience smoke in Fairbanks last week. A few people with allergies complained that it bothered them; other than that, no other problems.

[bottom-dragger]

We've had high thin haze for a few days but no odor of smoke. Normal wind patterns will bring this in from Canada.

 

but,

 

but,

 

you gotta believe

 

glaciers are more intense in color on overcast days. Too much sunlight will wash out all colors. If you want nice low angle light photos, you really need to get up early and stay out late.

[mek]

We've had high thin haze for a few days but no odor of smoke. Normal wind patterns will bring this in from Canada.

 

but,

 

but,

 

you gotta believe

 

glaciers are more intense in color on overcast days. Too much sunlight will wash out all colors. If you want nice low angle light photos, you really need to get up early and stay out late.

 

This past trip we really missed out on seeing that beautiful blue with the exception of the day we took the flight to McKinley with the glacier landing. As we were starting our descent to land, the area was peppered with small ice lakes that were a brilliant blue against the snow - breathtakingly beautiful.

Edited July 6, 2015 by mek

[Northern Aurora]

When we were there 2 weeks ago, the fires caused road closures. As we were on the train going up to Talkeetna, we were okay but it did get very close and we went through a lot of smoky areas. There was some discussion about whether we would have to take evasive action for our bus ride back to Seward.

 

.....

 

 

 

We experience smoke in Fairbanks last week. A few people with allergies complained that it bothered them; other than that, no other problems.

 

 

The Sockeye fire caused some road closures on the Parks Highway, and I suspect that is the fire referenced by "watertraveler." But there are no current problems. The Rex fire complex was near Anderson and Clear (north of the entrance into Denali National Park) and did not cause any road closures. There have been absolutely no road closures between Anchorage and Seward due to fires.

 

Fairbanks was very smokey yesterday too. Apparently the smoke yesterday was blowing in from a fire near the village of Tanana (located on the Yukon River to the west of Fairbanks).

[frugaltravel]

The Sockeye fire caused some road closures on the Parks Highway, and I suspect that is the fire referenced by "watertraveler." But there are no current problems. The Rex fire complex was near Anderson and Clear (north of the entrance into Denali National Park) and did not cause any road closures. There have been absolutely no road closures between Anchorage and Seward due to fires.

 

Fairbanks was very smokey yesterday too. Apparently the smoke yesterday was blowing in from a fire near the village of Tanana (located on the Yukon River to the west of Fairbanks).

 

Actually the Rex Complex fire is still going. In fact, it grew yesterday with the hot weather and this afternoon even the entire canyon near Denali NP is filled with smoke. I read that the Rex Complex fire has come within 1 mile of the Parks Highway and visibility is low.

 

Allow plenty of time for your travels and check the Alaska 511 website for the latest updates.