The votes have been tallied and the winner is – Spruce the Moose.
That’s the name of the Alaska Division of Forestry’s new wildland fire prevention mascot as decided by a recent public vote. Spruce will be the official spokesmoose of DOF’s “Take Time to LEARN Before You Burn” campaign, aimed at reducing the number of human-caused wildfires in wildland-urban interfaces by 10 percent annually in Alaska.
“Spruce the Moose will be a great addition to the DOF wildfire prevention team and will help get out the message to adults and children from all corners of the state about what they can do to reduce human-caused wildfire ignitions in Alaska.” State Forestry Director Chris Maisch said.
The “Take Time to Learn Before You Burn” campaign was created by House Bill 355 in 2018, which also directed updates to state wildland fire protection laws including new penalties for burning offenses committed on state, municipal, and private lands in Alaska. The new wildland fire statues and regulations took effect in June 2019.
The division received over 500 emails suggesting 360 different names during a more than two-month long submission period that ended Sept. 1. After they were whittled down to the 14 most popular and original names, a vote by division staff narrowed the list down to five finalists: Ash, Blaze, Cinder, Ember and Spruce. The finalists were posted on the division’s Facebook page for a public vote through email. Spruce was the overwhelming winner, garnering 70 percent of 143 votes received.
For details on Alaska’s wildland fire programs, visit: http://forestry.alaska.gov/wildland
CONTACT: Tim Mowry, 907-356-5512, tim.mowry@alaska.gov
Categories: AK Fire Info
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 