194:. The fire burned over 37,000 acres (15,000 ha), destroyed at least 344 structures, and caused more than $ 10 million in damage to structures and property. The fire was at the time the most destructive in Alaska history, consuming more structures than all other wildfires in Alaskan history combined. 37 fire departments and 1,800 firefighting and support personnel responded to the fire. It took nearly two weeks to completely control the fire.
29:
274:
By June 5, the fire had spread west along the north shore and south along the east shore of Big Lake. Winds gusted to more than 30 miles (48 km) from both the north and the southeast during the day, but dropped to a light breeze later in the day. Smoke rose as high as 15,000 feet (4,600 m)
229:
A drought began in the area in
September 1995, some nine months before the fire. During the winter of 1995/1996, the area received less than 30% of its normal precipitation. Due to the lack of snowfall, the ground froze to a depth of as much as 3 meters (9.8 ft). With the ground frozen so deep,
242:
On June 3, the weather during the day consisted of light winds out of the southwest, fair skies, and moderate humidity. A cold front passed through the area, and by 7:20 p.m. the winds had shifted around into the northwest and had increased to 33 miles per hour (53 km/h) and humidity had
263:(4,900 ha). The initial command and control center was placed at Houston High School, about three miles southeast of the ignition point of the fire. As the fire and the response from local, state and federal authorities grew, a unified command structure was established at Creekside Plaza in
262:
was issued by the
Anchorage Weather Service Forecast Office, due to high winds, high temperatures, and low humidity. The fire continued to rapidly spread through the canopy of the forest. The fire reached the northeast shore of Big Lake by the afternoon. The fire had burned 12,000 acres
238:
Around 4:00 p.m. local time on June 2, a fire began in the Miller's Reach Road area. The fire was contained within six hours after burning approximately 62 acres (25 ha). A few hot spots remained, which were expected to be resolved by the next day.
282:
signed
Federal Disaster Declaration AK-1119-DR, making federal disaster relief funding available. This funding eventually exceeded $ 8 million. On June 10, the fire was declared to be contained. On June 15, the fire was declared to be under control.
247:. Within four hours, the fire had spread south 4.5 miles (7.2 km). The Alaska Division of Forestry incident commander called for an evacuation of neighborhoods in the Big Lake area. Many people defied the evacuation order, including
230:
the spring thaw of accumulated snow ran off into streams in the area rather than being subsumed into the ground. Drought conditions with humidities lower than 25% persisted in the region prior to the inception of the fire.
306:
In 1998, a class action lawsuit seeking approximately $ 100 million in damages was brought against the State of Alaska alleging the state mismanaged the fire. In 2003, a unanimous jury ruled in favor of the state.
243:
dropped to 20%. The fire reignited and spread out of control. As a result of the sustained drought, the predominant black spruce were drier than normal and became the primary fuel for the fire. This resulted in a
353:
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The region where the fire occurred consists of flat terrain with occasional low rolling hills less than 80 meters (260 ft) in height.
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was temporarily cut off. Following the fire, funds exceeding $ 1.5 million were made available for wildfire mitigation measures.
464:. Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. pp. 5–22
325:"Miller's Reach fire lawsuit seeks $ 100 million in damages | Juneau Empire - Alaska's Capital City Online Newspaper"
720:
557:"Natural Event Action Plan for Particulate Matter from Wildfire Smoke for the Municipality of Anchorage Alaska"
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area suffered significant and sustained economic loss. Rail and road transportation between
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354:"Big Lake marks 20th anniversary of Millers Reach, the wildfire that changed everything"
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715:
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696:"Use of Real-Time Multisatellite and Radar Data to Support Forest Fire Management"
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694:
Hufford, Gary L.; Kelley, H. Lee; Sparkman, William; Moore, Raymond K. (1998),
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562:. State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. pp. 4–5
587:"Matanuska-Susitna Borough ALL-HAZARDS MITIGATION PLAN Natural Hazards"
255:. By the evening, 1,500 acres (610 ha) were involved in the fire.
186:
that began on June 2, 1996 in an area around Miller’s Reach Road near
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By June 7, reports indicated the fire was slowing down. On June 8,
183:
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226:. A very thick undergrowth was present at the time of the fire.
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637:"Miller's Reach fire lawsuit seeks $ 100 million in damages"
721:
10.1175/1520-0434(1998)013<0592:UORTMA>2.0.CO;2
693:
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662:"Statement by Attorney General on Miller's Reach Verdict"
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380:"20 years later Big Lake remembers Miller's Reach fire"
404:
Frontiersman, Christina Seine For the (2 June 2014).
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168:Uncertain; likely due to mishandling of fireworks
730:
551:
549:
547:
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190:, approximately 33 miles (53 km) north of
544:
459:"State of Alaska Hazard Mitigation Plan 2013"
206:predominates in the area, composed mostly of
759:History of Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska
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436:. U.S. Fish and Wildlive Service. p. 12
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744:1996 natural disasters in the United States
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612:"Alaska Millers Reach #2 Fire | FEMA.gov"
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267:, about 12 miles further east. Governor
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378:KTUU, Patrick Enslow / (5 June 2016).
16:1996 wildfire in Alaska, United States
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271:issued a State Disaster Declaration.
33:Extent of the burned area in the fire
749:1990s wildfires in the United States
448:
377:
431:"Annual Fire Activity Report, 1996"
13:
669:State of Alaska, Department of Law
525:Christiansen, Scott (2 May 2003).
342:
14:
775:
406:"Miller's Reach Fire remembered"
764:1996 fires in the United States
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629:
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352:Hollander, Zaz (11 June 2016).
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198:Circumstances before the fire
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258:On the morning of June 4, a
249:Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
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527:"Miller's Reach verdict in"
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531:Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
410:Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
126:37,336 acres (151 km)
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51:– June 15, 1996
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700:Weather and Forecasting
43:June 2, 1996
234:Evolution of the fire
384:Gray Television, Inc
358:Alaska Dispatch News
178:, also known as the
144:Structures destroyed
754:Wildfires in Alaska
712:1998WtFor..13..592H
513:Hufford et al. 1998
488:Hufford et al. 1998
176:Miller’s Reach Fire
98: /
22:Miller's Reach fire
490:, pp. 595–596
102:61.617°N 149.855°W
280:President Clinton
192:Anchorage, Alaska
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260:red flag warning
155:>$ 10 million
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739:1996 in Alaska
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619:. Retrieved
616:www.fema.gov
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592:. p. 46
564:. Retrieved
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332:. Retrieved
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269:Tony Knowles
257:
253:Martin Buser
241:
237:
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220:white spruce
210:, with some
208:black spruce
201:
179:
175:
173:
123:Burned area
105: /
93:149°51′18″W
80:Coordinates
733:Categories
311:References
245:crown fire
224:cottonwood
118:Statistics
90:61°37′01″N
55:1996-06-15
47:1996-06-02
301:Fairbanks
297:Anchorage
287:Aftermath
251:champion
184:wildfire
182:, was a
160:Ignition
64:Location
708:Bibcode
687:Sources
131:Impacts
53: (
45: (
39:Date(s)
674:31 May
646:31 May
621:31 May
596:31 May
566:31 May
536:31 May
468:31 May
440:31 May
415:31 May
389:31 May
363:31 May
334:31 May
222:, and
152:Damage
136:Deaths
665:(PDF)
590:(PDF)
560:(PDF)
462:(PDF)
434:(PDF)
216:alder
212:birch
165:Cause
67:Near
676:2017
648:2017
623:2017
598:2017
568:2017
538:2017
470:2017
442:2017
417:2017
391:2017
365:2017
336:2017
299:and
291:The
174:The
716:doi
147:344
735::
714:,
704:13
702:,
698:,
667:.
639:.
614:.
576:^
546:^
529:.
495:^
478:^
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408:.
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356:.
344:^
327:.
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338:.
139:0
57:)
49:)
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