ANCHORAGE — Alaska wildfire officials have doubled the number of personnel fighting a fire near the village of Tetlin.
Alaska Interagency Coordination Center spokesman Tim Mowry says 227 people are working on the fire that began Friday.
It has burned nearly 1.7 square miles west of the village.
Tetlin is a community of 121 about 230 miles southeast of Fairbanks.
The fire began west of the Tetlin River, jumped to the other side and burned toward the village.
The fire reached the community’s airstrip, which provided a natural barrier.
The village is connected by road to the Alaska Highway and firefighters have been using the airstrip as a staging area.
Helicopters Monday were dumping water on flames.
The fire is believed to be human-caused and is under investigation.