All lanes on the Seward Highway are currently open following snarls that closed down northbound traffic and slowed southbound traffic to a crawl as motorists were subject to pilot cars that lead them through the McHugh Creek fire area on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the fire that raged just south of Anchorage, expanded quickly in size and threatened evacuations in the Rainbow Valley and Potter Marsh areas. But, efforts of firefighters who cleared brush and set up sprinkler systems, fed by nearby creeks, were aided by only moderate breezes in the area.

Weather in the area is forecasted for increasingly cloudier conditions on Wednesday and light rains are expected for Thursday.

At 9 am Wednesday, DHHS issued a Air Quality Health Advisory for the elderly, children and individuals with lung and heart ailments in the Turnagain Arm, Portage, and Hope areas as the wind is predicted to shift to the Northwest from the Southeast wind conditions of Tuesday.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

  air quality, Alaska, closures, firefighter, mchugh creek, potter marsh, rainbow valley, seward highway, wildfire