The 1977 Tundra Fire in the Kokolik River Area of Alaska

Widespread fires occurred on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, during the summer of 1977. During this period there was also one large natural fire in the northern part of the state. Presumably caused by lightning, it occurred due east of Point Lay and several kilometres southwest of the Kokolik River (69"30/N, 161"50V) on the boundary between the coastal plain and the northern foothills1 (Fig. 1). According to the smoke-jumper record kept by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this was the farthest north a fire had ever been fought by the personnel of BLM in Alaska. No tundra fires had previously been reported from this area, although during the years 1969 to 1971 fires occurred on the North Slope of which four were stated to have been caused by lightningV. Climatic conditions in northern and western Alaska during the summer of 1977, as observed at the Cape Lisburne station of the US. Air Force, situated 185 km to the southwest of the area of the Kokolik River fire (the meteorological observation centre closest to it), were apparently ideal for tun-