BLM Alaska GIS Specialist Jennifer Jenkins received the Esri Special Achievement in geographic information systems (GIS) award this summer for creating mobile-friendly online dashboards that provide near real-time information about wildfires in Alaska and maps that deliver more in-depth information than before in the Alaska Wildland Fire Information Map Series.
Weather permitting, the DOF’s Fairbanks Area Forestry office will start burning on October 4 and be done by October 29, said fire management officer Gordon Amundson. There are approximately 2,500 to 3,000 slash piles, each about 10 feet around and four feet tall. Local residents may see smoke from the burning.
Suppression repair work began September 1 and should be completed by October 1. A single excavator is being used to complete most of the suppression repair, which primarily consists of rehabilitating approximately 5 miles of dozer lines.
Smoke may be visible from woody debris pile burning on the Yukon Training Area east of North Pole and Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction.
The BLM Alaska Fire Service is wrapping up work on a pair of Yukon Flats fire this week as the days get shorter, cooler and wetter. With work reaching completion, equipment and firefighting personnel will be pulled from both the Marten Creek Fire (#386) and the Discovery Creek Fire (#388) on Wednesday.
Firefighters quickly contained a pair of new wildfires near Delta Junction over the weekend proving that the wildfire season lingers in some parts of Eastern Alaska.
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) awarded three contracts for additional Type 2 wildland firefighting hand crews based in Western Alaska villages. The contractors selected will base crews in the Galena Fire Management Zone that covers most of Western Alaska.
Wetting rains fell on the pair of fires burning in the Yukon Flats, but the drier weather is forecasted to return in the upcoming days. Despite the moisture that significantly moderated fire behavior on Thursday, it is not enough to put the Marten Creek and Discovery Creek fires out.
The rainfall predicted for several days finally arrived on the pair of fires burning in the Yukon Flats. However, the forecasted amount is not likely to put out the Discovery Creek and Marten Creek Fires.
There was an uptick in fire behavior on the pair of fires burning in the Yukon Flats Tuesday as firefighters continue to work to protect Native allotments, historical cabins and the village of Venetie. The fire activity has been building for three days in a row due to the sunshine, temperatures in the 60s and lack of rain.
