Wildfire in Lower Kuskokwim Valley, Alaska

Thunderstorms developing off the Western Alaska Range in the afternoon on June 17 pushed west over the Lower Kuskokwim Valley, producing numerous lightning strikes. Thunderstorm activity lasted through around 10 pm. A total of 17 new fire starts in the Southwest region were reported in Alaska Interagency Coordination Center situation report on June 18.

An upper level low over Kodiak Island and the northwest Gulf of Alaska on June 16 tracked into Southwest AK on June 17, where it opened into a sharply defined trough. Mostly clear skies, with warm temperatures and an unstable airmass were in place out ahead (to the northwest) of the trough, which moved through the area during the afternoon and evening hours. Two main lines of thunderstorms developed along the Western Alaska Range and the Kilbuck Mountains, pushing westward through the evening and producing several thousand cloud-to-ground lightning strikes across the Kuskokwim Delta and Lower Kuskokwim Valley. On June 18, the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center reported that lightning started 17 new fires in the Southwest region.