Denali National Park has no timeline for reopening as rare wildfire burns outside entrance, officials say

By Jillian Sykes and Dalia Faheid, CNN

(CNN) — No date has been set for the reopening of a popular national park in Alaska after a rare active wildfire near the park’s entrance was reported Sunday, officials said.

Evacuation orders were issued for Denali National Park and Preserve on Monday as crews began battling the Riley Fire, park officials said on Facebook. Since then, the park has been closed, and it has no timeline for a reopening, park officials told CNN Tuesday.

“Park tour and transit bus service will remain suspended on Wednesday, July 3,” the park posted late Tuesday. “Park campgrounds will close at 11:00am on Wednesday.”

The wildfire had burned 388 acres and was 25% contained as of Tuesday evening, park officials said.

But a bit of good news emerged Wednesday morning: “Cloudy skies and cooler temperatures are aiding firefighters and water-dropping aircraft,” park officials said. “Helicopters are able to maneuver through the Nenana River corridor to draw water from a nearby lake to make numerous water drops on the fire.”

More than 600,000 people visit the park every year, with most visiting in the summer, according to the National Park Service. Meanwhile, employees who were forced to evacuate from park housing are staying in the nearby town of Healy, the park said.

The fire is extremely rare for that area because an active fire hasn’t been there for 100 years, park officials told CNN. Although it hasn’t caused any injuries or structural damage as of Tuesday, the Riley Fire is affecting local air quality conditions, park officials said.

The blaze ignited as the nation grapples this week with more extreme heat – the deadliest form of weather globally and one that makes wildfires more likely and destructive.

Additional crews arrived at the Alaska preserve on Tuesday to help combat the fire, according to park officials. Cloudy skies and cooler temperatures are aiding firefighters, the Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska Fire Service said Tuesday on the state’s interagency wildfire information website.

“The fire has already burned through most of the black spruce in the area. It is now burning mostly hardwoods and brush, which helped moderate fire behavior,” the Alaska Fire Service said. “The winds, which are typically channeled through the Nenana River corridor, have been uncharacteristically calm since the Riley Fire started on Sunday.”

The cause of the fire is unknown, and a fire investigator will be brought in to investigate, park officials said.

The Riley Fire is one of 33 large wildfires currently burning across Alaska, spanning almost 300,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Alaska wildfire season typically begins in late May and ends in late July, according to the National Park Service. On average, 1 million acres burn statewide every year, the park service says.

“Peak fire season period is now underway in Alaska, and conditions are expected to worsen under persisting and recurrent hot, dry air masses, combined with the long daylight period,” the National Interagency Fire Center said Tuesday.

CNN’s Amanda Musa contributed to this report.

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