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ANCHORAGE — Denali National Park was closed to visitors Tuesday for the second day as firefighters made progress on containing a wildfire that’s prompted emergency closures and evacuations. The Riley Fire was estimated to be 388 acres as of Tuesday morning and had reached 10% containment on the southern perimeter closest to the park entrance, said Beth Ipsen, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service. National Park Service officials said it still wasn’t clear when the park would reopen.

The fire’s rapid growth on Sunday triggered evacuations from employee housing and campgrounds, canceled passenger train services and shut off power to what’s known locally as Glitter Gulch, a commercial strip in the Nenana Canyon where tourists visit shops, restaurants and lodging. The fire comes during the park’s busiest time of year, when up to 5,000 people flock to the area daily to sightsee, camp and recreate. Power remained out on Tuesday to the Glitter Gulch area, according to an update from Golden Valley Electric Association.



“The Riley Fire’s incident management team has reported that they continue to see heat signatures beneath the power line and in the immediate area, and have requested the line remain off until 9 pm this evening for the safety of the crews working in the area.” Park rangers were stationed at the entrance on Monday and Tuesday to turn around vehicles, Park Service spokesman Paul Ollig said. Power outages made it challenging.

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