Alaska wildfire: Area residents urged to evacuate

The McKinley fire, a fast-moving wildfire north of Willow, burned across the Parks Highway Sunday night, triggering widespread evacuations of subdivisions north of Willow and closing the busy highway. The Deshka Landing fire, a smaller wildfire further west of the highway, also increased in size, threatening cabins on Red Shirt Lake, Ancorage Daily News reports. 

The McKinley fire and the Deshka Landing fire both sparked on Saturday, stoked by high winds that barrelled through the Sustina Valley over the weekend.

After relatively slow growth Sunday, the McKinley fire was moving fast by Sunday night. The Division of Forestry urged residents in the area of milepost 82 to 91 to immediately evacuate their homes.

“The wind-driven fire is moving very rapidly and the situation is evolving,” a statement from the Division of Forestry said.