HOUSTON -- As thunder and lightning moved across the Susitna Valley Tuesday evening, the uncontrolled, destructive wildfire that’s burned through nearly 12 square miles around Willow is now the top firefighting priority in the country.

Lightning and strong winds had fire officials bracing for more extreme fire behavior and the potential for more losses Tuesday.

The Sockeye fire has already destroyed 50 to 100 structures, fire officials said during a press conference Tuesday at a command center set up at Houston High School. Some of the lost buildings are sheds or other small outbuildings and not homes.

Shortly after 5 p.m., the Alaska Division of Forestry sent two air tankers and a helicopter to a report of smoke around the Montana Creek area north of Willow, said Tim Mowry, division public information officer.

The cause was not immediately clear, Mowry said. "The incident report lists it as a human-caused fire but the smoke was reported by someone who saw a lightning strike," he said.

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The Kenai Peninsula’s Card Street fire grew to an estimated 2,000 acres Tuesday evening as crews continued to battle the blaze that has damaged or destroyed at least 10 structures in the Southcentral community of Sterling.

“The fire is getting more active,” Division of Forestry public information officer Tim Mowry said at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Fire activity on a scorching day in Southcentral had mostly been on the blaze’s eastern perimeter and had burned into the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, he said.

Crews were keeping an eye on cumulus clouds forming to the east, which could bring wind to fan the flames or deliver lightning to the area, Mowry said.

State Troopers were assisting Tuesday evening with the evacuation of the Kenai Keys subdivision that was announced that morning, as crews held the fire east of the subdivision, Mowry said.

The fire, first reported just before 2 p.m. Monday, grew 1,200 acres within eight hours, said Division of Forestry spokesperson Terry Anderson. Ten structures were reported lost in the fire by Tuesday afternoon, including three homes.

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