"The Fish Creek Fire in Interior Alaska isn't much to look at. It's about 7,500 acres in size, sitting about an hour south of Fairbanks near the twisty Tanana River. The main fire front — the made-for-TV part, with torching trees and pulses of orange heat — flamed out more than a week ago, leaving behind a quiet charred landscape.

But the fire is far from over. It's one of nearly 300 fires still burning in Alaska, after a spectacular lightning storm late last month sparked hundreds of blazes and a wave of fire larger than any in the state's history — nearly 5 million acres in total.

And though the Fish Creek Fire looks benign, with little wisps of white smoke as its only sign of life, it's not."

Nathan Rott reports for NPR's Morning Edition July 27, 2015. [2]