Heavy smoke from a large wildfire on the Kenai Peninsula was limiting travel along a 17-mile stretch of the Sterling Highway on Friday morning.
Alaska State Troopers first rerouted traffic onto Skilak Lake Loop Road, then opened the highway but limited drivers to pilot car escort between miles 58 and 75 because of reduced visibility, according to a statement issued at 8:43 a.m. “There’s not a lot of capacity so there’s a lot of delay,” said Shannon McCarthy of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.
She cautioned drivers to use their headlights. The 20,500-acre Swan Lake fire is burning near Sterling just under 3 miles from the highway at its closest point, and thick smoke caused heavy traffic congestion between mile 61 and 70 Friday morning, according to the Division of Forestry.