On the nearby Kanuti Refuge, the ?Old Dummy? fire, which started on June 16, grew to 78,196 acres by mid-July. In late June, a team of Alaska Fire Service smoke jumpers were deployed to protect the Refuges? field station along the Kanuti River. The smoke jumpers left about a week later, after rains quelled the fire so that it no longer threatened the Refuge's facility. Fires of this size are a normal summertime occurrence in central and northern Alaska, and the Refuge management plans support the maintenance of a natural fire regime as long as individual fires do not threaten human life or property. In the past 15 years about half of Kanuti Refuge's 1.6 million acres has experienced a wildland fire, which has resulted in a mosaic of diverse habitats.