Rain slows some Alaska fires while others continue to burn

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – Rain has slowed some of the wildfires in Alaska’s interior while others continued to grow over the weekend.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Saturday that lightning sparked new fires in southwest Alaska including blazes that threaten cabins, historic sites and gold-mining sites.

The Alaska Division of Forestry says about an inch (25 millimeters) of rain fell on the Hess Creek Fire that has burned 250 square miles (648 square kilometers) near Livengood.

The rain also halted the growth of the Shovel Creek Fire northwest of Fairbanks and the Kobe Fire near Mile 275 Parks Highway.

The Nugget Creek Fire in the Chena River State Recreation Area northeast of Fairbanks grew, while the Rainbow 2 fire west of Delta Junction was encroaching on several cabins on the Richardson Clearwater River.

Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com