As progress continues on mopping up the Deshka Landing and McKinley Fires, some of the personnel and equipment assigned to the Mat-Su are being drawn down.
As of Monday morning, both fires are officially ninety-five percent contained. Rain over the weekend reduced the occurrence of surface fires, but officials say the rain was not enough to penetrate into the ground, where fire is still smoldering out of sight.
Over the weekend, the incident management team has continued removing some hoses and other equipment used in containment efforts on the McKinley Fire. That equipment will be refurbished where possible and used to fight fires in the future. Crews are now working to repair some of the dozer and hand lines dug around the fire’s perimeter. As crews reach their maximum deployment time, the number of firefighters will drop.