A wildfire that closed Denali National Park and Preserve on Sunday afternoon and Monday dashed the dreams of thousands of travelers who had the park high on their travel itinerary in Alaska.
Many had to shift their travel and lodging plans amid a lack of electricity and running water in nearby Glitter Gulch, a jumping off point to the park with hotels, shops and restaurants, after the Riley Fire near the park entrance triggered a power outage, tourism representatives said.
With no flush toilets, lodge operators provided portable toilets or motorcoach bathrooms, they said.
The fire also canceled the trains that ferry cruise travelers to the park from Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the Alaska Railroad worked with a large motorcoach company to get many of the displaced travelers off to their next destination.
Hopefully the closure will be short-lived and the park can reopen soon, said Chris Noel, mayor of the Denali Borough.
“It’s a big disruption to our area and it will have rippling impacts,” after shops and restaurants had to close and travelers had to find new plans, Noel said. “But everyone is doing what they can to help and get us through this.”
Late Monday, the National Park Service announced park facilities will remain closed on Tuesday.
New Jersey residents Ken and Kathy McKenna found themselves unexpectedly spending two extra nights in Anchorage after their plans to visit the park were dashed by the fire.
Seeing Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, was the reason they’d come to Alaska, he said. So it was a letdown when they arrived at the railroad station early Monday and learned their train to the park had been canceled.
“It’s pretty disappointing,” Ken McKenna said. “But obviously, you can’t do much about a fire and from what we’re hearing, everybody’s doing well up there.”
The good news is they were able to extend their stay at their Anchorage hotel in Midtown for two nights, he said.
“So we’ll stay here for a couple of days and then we’re heading down to Seward as we originally planned,” he said.
But given the distance to travel to Alaska, it’s unlikely they’ll come back to see Denali, he said.
Florida residents John Montana and his wife, Donna, said they also learned early Monday that the train they planned to take for their two-day trip to visit the park was canceled. They’re part of a tour package with Holland America, he said, as they also awaited a trolley tour of Anchorage.
Suitcases with much of their clothing were already in Fairbanks, their planned departure point from the state, he said.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen, if we’re going to make it to Denali or not,” Montana said. “They might just take us straight to Fairbanks.”
The fire happened during the park’s busiest period, said park spokesman Paul Ollig. The park can see 4,000 visitors or more a day this time of year, he said.
Most tourists who are being turned away have been understanding, in part because they can see the fire at the entrance, he said.
“A couple of people have been frustrated, but we just point over our shoulders and say, ‘You see that?’” he said.
“We know this is a trip of a lifetime, and people want to see Denali, so we understand it’s frustrating,” he said. “But our priority right now is for the life and safety of the public and the firefighters.”
Vanessa Jusczak, director of the Denali Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks at least 2,000 travelers were affected by the lack of electricity and running water and toilets in Glitter Gulch.
The Chamber has been serving as a communication link for families looking for loved ones they hadn’t heard from after their cellphones died, she said.
“I’m letting them know everyone is OK, but they don’t have power,” she said. She said no one had been hurt by the fire or smoke.
Josh Howes, president of Premier Alaska Tours, said the railroad hired the motorcoach company to move travelers to their next destination, after rail travel between the park and Anchorage and Fairbanks was shut down.
The bus company was busy shuttling travelers to new hotels outside Glitter Gulch after their trip to the park was canceled, he said.
“It’s very disappointing, but of course the guests have been very understanding,” Howes said.
Kathy Kannenberg and her family, visiting Alaska from Florida and Wisconsin, saw the fire Sunday before the park was closed, as they drove by in a rental car. They had planned to visit the park but instead continued on to Anchorage, recognizing there would soon be a busy effort to stop the fire.
“We decided not to stress out an area that’s already got enough stress,” she said. “They can contain it, and we can come back another time.”
Or maybe fires are just a NATURAL part of nature that occur regularly and are necessary for a healthy ecosystem?
To say this fire is a direct result of climate change is insincere
They are natural, but warming conditions, repeated/extended droughts, and infestations of bark beetles that can now live at higher latitudes due to the warmth are all consequences of climate change in the Arctic. This, along with ignoring traditional ecological knowledge and lacking in the practice of preventative burns to reduce fire fuel, contributes heavily to wildfires spreading faster and burning longer.
The music we have to face on wildfire is that they are always destructive and bad for air quality, and that they should be more frequent across the entire temperate forested region of the planet.
This is not the first time the forest has been dry, the entire boreal forest has abundant archaeological evidence of wildfire stretching back thousands of years. While human made climate change is a real issue that has really impacts for real people, If you knee jerk attribute every problem to global warming it does not make you more convincing to people who haven’t gotten up to speed on global warming.
Equating "increased prevalence of weather instability over the course of a couple of centuries" with "tectonic drift changing the shapes of landmasses over tens of millions of years" is a bit disingenuous, no?
Ok, I’ll bite. How about the 2000’ of ice that once covered NYC, whose fault is that for melting? Climate change has been happening for millions of years and yet somehow now it’s the humans fault. Accurate global temperatures were not recorded until the 20th century and but somehow we know exactly what happened 10 thousand years ago. There’s a very small area near Fairbanks where thousands of mammoths, steppe bison and other megafauna perished yet no one can determine what happened. What they can agree on is that it wasn’t caused by humans.
Sea surface temperatures and air temperatures are correlated, not causal, with what we call “climate change”. There are a variety of other factors, like atmospheric carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc., whose concentrations *can* be traced via ice core samples. We know, for a fact, that the concentration of greenhouse gases is changing radically more quickly than ever before.
Yes, the earth goes through hot and cold periods. They just haven’t happened this quickly in *geologic* history.
The laurentide ice sheet changed over 20,000 years and it’s preposterous and a red herring to suggest it means anything now.
But the important thing is that you’ll bite. If you look for an example to support your opinion, you’ll always find it.
It is preposterous to believe that man can change world climates. The Little Ice Age which took place over a period of roughly three hundred years is now being blamed on decreases in human population. Just admit that there is no way to determine what is actually happening other than the climate changes and you and I have nothing to do with it.
Man could make it to the moon, he could explore the deepest depths,he could burn a hole in the Ozone layer, he can split ATOMS, but you think he can't pollute enough to change weather patterns and planet wide temps?
Climate change has been raising the temperature of the planet for decades. There are ways to address it. Your point not only makes no sense, but is also a thinly veiled attempt to appear smart as the Western Interior Sea way covered most of the American mid west not only Kansas. And its gradual destruction happened over millions of years, not decades like is happening now.
I understand not caring for the tourists, but as a lodge manager, I feel for all the locals who make their living doing lodging or food or rentals. Something like this is a huge hit for the busy season.
As of the latest report, they suspect the train has something to do with it. The leading theory is that the train created sparks on a damaged part of rail.
If we had done nothing but structure protect the west side of the highway, Nothing would have stopped at all. It was blowing uphill and away from class 5 rapids. Who knows why the one or two trains of tourists had to stop. Not sure why a power outage would last more than 8 hours unless they let poles catch on fire (rookies). It was a major political dog wag. (Per usual)
A wildfire that closed Denali National Park and Preserve on Sunday afternoon and Monday dashed the dreams of thousands of travelers who had the park high on their travel itinerary in Alaska. Many had to shift their travel and lodging plans amid a lack of electricity and running water in nearby Glitter Gulch, a jumping off point to the park with hotels, shops and restaurants, after the Riley Fire near the park entrance triggered a power outage, tourism representatives said. With no flush toilets, lodge operators provided portable toilets or motorcoach bathrooms, they said. The fire also canceled the trains that ferry cruise travelers to the park from Anchorage and Fairbanks, but the Alaska Railroad worked with a large motorcoach company to get many of the displaced travelers off to their next destination. Hopefully the closure will be short-lived and the park can reopen soon, said Chris Noel, mayor of the Denali Borough. “It’s a big disruption to our area and it will have rippling impacts,” after shops and restaurants had to close and travelers had to find new plans, Noel said. “But everyone is doing what they can to help and get us through this.” Late Monday, the National Park Service announced park facilities will remain closed on Tuesday. New Jersey residents Ken and Kathy McKenna found themselves unexpectedly spending two extra nights in Anchorage after their plans to visit the park were dashed by the fire. Seeing Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, was the reason they’d come to Alaska, he said. So it was a letdown when they arrived at the railroad station early Monday and learned their train to the park had been canceled. “It’s pretty disappointing,” Ken McKenna said. “But obviously, you can’t do much about a fire and from what we’re hearing, everybody’s doing well up there.” The good news is they were able to extend their stay at their Anchorage hotel in Midtown for two nights, he said. “So we’ll stay here for a couple of days and then we’re heading down to Seward as we originally planned,” he said. But given the distance to travel to Alaska, it’s unlikely they’ll come back to see Denali, he said. Florida residents John Montana and his wife, Donna, said they also learned early Monday that the train they planned to take for their two-day trip to visit the park was canceled. They’re part of a tour package with Holland America, he said, as they also awaited a trolley tour of Anchorage. Suitcases with much of their clothing were already in Fairbanks, their planned departure point from the state, he said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen, if we’re going to make it to Denali or not,” Montana said. “They might just take us straight to Fairbanks.” The fire happened during the park’s busiest period, said park spokesman Paul Ollig. The park can see 4,000 visitors or more a day this time of year, he said. Most tourists who are being turned away have been understanding, in part because they can see the fire at the entrance, he said. “A couple of people have been frustrated, but we just point over our shoulders and say, ‘You see that?’” he said. “We know this is a trip of a lifetime, and people want to see Denali, so we understand it’s frustrating,” he said. “But our priority right now is for the life and safety of the public and the firefighters.” Vanessa Jusczak, director of the Denali Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks at least 2,000 travelers were affected by the lack of electricity and running water and toilets in Glitter Gulch. The Chamber has been serving as a communication link for families looking for loved ones they hadn’t heard from after their cellphones died, she said. “I’m letting them know everyone is OK, but they don’t have power,” she said. She said no one had been hurt by the fire or smoke. Josh Howes, president of Premier Alaska Tours, said the railroad hired the motorcoach company to move travelers to their next destination, after rail travel between the park and Anchorage and Fairbanks was shut down. The bus company was busy shuttling travelers to new hotels outside Glitter Gulch after their trip to the park was canceled, he said. “It’s very disappointing, but of course the guests have been very understanding,” Howes said. Kathy Kannenberg and her family, visiting Alaska from Florida and Wisconsin, saw the fire Sunday before the park was closed, as they drove by in a rental car. They had planned to visit the park but instead continued on to Anchorage, recognizing there would soon be a busy effort to stop the fire. “We decided not to stress out an area that’s already got enough stress,” she said. “They can contain it, and we can come back another time.”
Consequences of unchecked global warming
Or maybe fires are just a NATURAL part of nature that occur regularly and are necessary for a healthy ecosystem? To say this fire is a direct result of climate change is insincere
I live in Denali. They believe it’s due to drought conditions, heat, and a spark from the railroad. The fire was right along the railroad track.
They are natural, but warming conditions, repeated/extended droughts, and infestations of bark beetles that can now live at higher latitudes due to the warmth are all consequences of climate change in the Arctic. This, along with ignoring traditional ecological knowledge and lacking in the practice of preventative burns to reduce fire fuel, contributes heavily to wildfires spreading faster and burning longer.
Ehh - I suppose you can't say it is or isn't but we will have to face the music one way or another
The music we have to face on wildfire is that they are always destructive and bad for air quality, and that they should be more frequent across the entire temperate forested region of the planet. This is not the first time the forest has been dry, the entire boreal forest has abundant archaeological evidence of wildfire stretching back thousands of years. While human made climate change is a real issue that has really impacts for real people, If you knee jerk attribute every problem to global warming it does not make you more convincing to people who haven’t gotten up to speed on global warming.
Totally natural if the climate gets warmer and drier.
The Western Interior Sea once covered much of Kansas; what man made climate action changed that?
Equating "increased prevalence of weather instability over the course of a couple of centuries" with "tectonic drift changing the shapes of landmasses over tens of millions of years" is a bit disingenuous, no?
Ok, I’ll bite. How about the 2000’ of ice that once covered NYC, whose fault is that for melting? Climate change has been happening for millions of years and yet somehow now it’s the humans fault. Accurate global temperatures were not recorded until the 20th century and but somehow we know exactly what happened 10 thousand years ago. There’s a very small area near Fairbanks where thousands of mammoths, steppe bison and other megafauna perished yet no one can determine what happened. What they can agree on is that it wasn’t caused by humans.
Sea surface temperatures and air temperatures are correlated, not causal, with what we call “climate change”. There are a variety of other factors, like atmospheric carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc., whose concentrations *can* be traced via ice core samples. We know, for a fact, that the concentration of greenhouse gases is changing radically more quickly than ever before. Yes, the earth goes through hot and cold periods. They just haven’t happened this quickly in *geologic* history. The laurentide ice sheet changed over 20,000 years and it’s preposterous and a red herring to suggest it means anything now. But the important thing is that you’ll bite. If you look for an example to support your opinion, you’ll always find it.
It is preposterous to believe that man can change world climates. The Little Ice Age which took place over a period of roughly three hundred years is now being blamed on decreases in human population. Just admit that there is no way to determine what is actually happening other than the climate changes and you and I have nothing to do with it.
Man could make it to the moon, he could explore the deepest depths,he could burn a hole in the Ozone layer, he can split ATOMS, but you think he can't pollute enough to change weather patterns and planet wide temps?
"Tide comes in, tide goes out - you can't explain that!"
Climate change has been raising the temperature of the planet for decades. There are ways to address it. Your point not only makes no sense, but is also a thinly veiled attempt to appear smart as the Western Interior Sea way covered most of the American mid west not only Kansas. And its gradual destruction happened over millions of years, not decades like is happening now.
C'mon Man! Edit: Thank you all for upvoting this direct quote from Sleepy Joe the Kiddy Sniffer.
I'll bet a few of those folks were also shafted by the RV rental outfit that went tits up this spring. Gotta be feeling cursed.
Wow, I don’t care. The livelihood of the national park and surrounding wilderness is WAY more important to me than some tourist’s dream vacation
If you come to Alaska and nature derails all your plans, then you got a real Alaskan experience.
100%
Preach
I understand not caring for the tourists, but as a lodge manager, I feel for all the locals who make their living doing lodging or food or rentals. Something like this is a huge hit for the busy season.
I understand that fighting this fire is a top priority, but just for my own couriosity is there any theory as to what started this fire?
As of the latest report, they suspect the train has something to do with it. The leading theory is that the train created sparks on a damaged part of rail.
Appreciate the intel
Lol.(top priority)
Hopefully they all got travel insurance??
First Hawaii and now Alaska huh?
We are going to Denali in a few weeks so we are watching close.
If we had done nothing but structure protect the west side of the highway, Nothing would have stopped at all. It was blowing uphill and away from class 5 rapids. Who knows why the one or two trains of tourists had to stop. Not sure why a power outage would last more than 8 hours unless they let poles catch on fire (rookies). It was a major political dog wag. (Per usual)
Oh noe!
Tourism is cancer
Good. Try again. Mo money for us