Walt Longmire

We have seen 8 bulls since yesterday morning. One was legal. We saw him twice, but he hauled ass both times. It's dry as hell. The 10 day forecast shows a 25% chance of rain next weekend.

I've eaten a ton of moose, elk, deer, caribou, bear. Moose is the best.

Moose season opened today for archery. Went out before dawn. We saw about 15 moose, 2 of them being bulls. One wasn't legal due to antler restrictions. The legal bull did not stick around. Also helped a couple guys track one they had stuck. They were still looking for it when we moved on. We'll go back tonight to see how they did. I'm thinking it was a shoulder shot and likely not fatal for the moose. Very smoky here today from the fires. High 60's and still dry as hell.

666 fires reported in Alaska so far this summer. 2,555,000 acres. Still shy of the all time record of 2015 when 5.1 million acres burned. We ain't out of the woods yet, but hopefully we don't set any more records. The Swan Lake fire is at 141,000 acres now.

Swan Lake fire is still growing and the highway is mostly shut down. The Caribou Lake fire is now at 700 acres and growing. 10 day forecast still has no rain. North Fork fire is mostly contained......for now.

There are tourists still arriving here that are completely clueless that Alaska is ON FIRE. I read about a couple that brought up an entire wedding party only to find out the place they had scheduled the wedding at had burned to the ground. They had no idea until they arrived. Hundreds of fires burning in Alaska and apparently it doesn't make the news in the lower 48. But a fire of a few hundred acres down there will be on the national news. Go figure.

We have 2 more new ones here on the Peninsula and the Sawn Lake Fire is all blowed up again.

You dropping water anywhere Stick?

Check out the pics of the Casswell Lodge that burnt in the McKinley fire. 50 plus structure lost there so far. Very smoky here today. Air quality advisor says "unhealthy." The Sterling Highway remains shut down. Those procrastinators with a 2-3 day supply of food will be bumming soon. I need to make a run into Kenai today and plan to have a look at store shelves. My bet would be that even though some traffic got through yesterday, that the produce aisles are looking pretty sad. It has happened before. The Alcan was closed several years ago for fires in Canada, and the grocery stores were really lacking inventory. The Swan Lake Fire has been burning since the first week of June, although for most of July and early August smoke was the main issue. The highway was only closed briefly when they were doing back burns to prevent the fire from crossing the highway. Things are so dry around here the birch and cottonwood trees are losing their leaves already.

Resources are stretched mighty thin.

The hwy is closed again. The parts of the fire that made a run to Skilak have now turned back towards the hwy again. 138,000 acres and still growing. Had a new fire near Homer yesterday, but now there is ANOTHER. Both growing. North Fork fire and Caribou Lake fire.

Bad deal. I saw a KW with the drive tires on fire and wondered why no one moved it to a safer area. I have my stuff parked in the open at my pit and shop.

The most recent estimate on the Swan Lake fire that I have seen is just about what I stated earlier. 128,000 acres and growing. The North Fork fire at Anchor Point is also growing but still small. Level 1 evacuation warning for some residents. Pretty smoky at my house 20 miles from Swan Lake today, but worse in Anchorage. Sterling highway is open again.

Nice video. Everything in that video is quite familiar to me. Been down the river many times. Worked on the highway. Hunted there. Been inside most of the businesses and all the restaurants. Hiked the trails. Camped in the mountains. Thanks for sharing.

Thankfully the winds have died down. Have not seen a new size estimate yet, but I'm gonna guess this fire is way over 130,000 acres now. The new fire in Anchor Point is still not under control. Up north of Anchorage in the Valley there is a fire burning on both sides of the Parks highway that has consumed a whole bunch of buildings and vehicles near Casswell Lakes. Still no rain in the 10 day forecast. I'm keeping my lawn and surrounding vegetation watered. Grandson found a place to spend the night in Seward rather than sleeping in his pickup out on the highway. Sterling highway is still closed. It is our only road between the Peninsula and Anchorage. Glad I have a pantry full off food and a freezer full of moose and salmon. I have friends in Sterling that posted pics last night where the fire made a run to Skilak Lake. You could see the flames from their deck. Fortunately the Card Rd fire a few years ago created a burned out area to the East of Sterling. Alaska has about 700,000 acres actively on fire. That is way more than all the fires in the lower 48. I believe we are currently running at #3 for the worst fire season ever in the state. In 2015 Alaska burned over 5 MILLION acres.