FAIRBANKS – The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK), will burn piles of woody debris on military training lands in Interior Alaska starting as early as Saturday. Burning operations for piles in the Yukon Training Area (YTA) east of North Pole may start as early as Saturday, Sept. 18 and continue, as conditions allow, until Oct. 31. Piles within the Donnelly Training Area (DTA) south of Delta Junction could start as early as Oct.1 and continue until Nov. 30.
The roughly 1,000 piles targeted for burning are located:
- YTA: Several locations between 5 miles north and 15 miles east of Eielson Air Force Base
- DTA: Several locations between 15 miles west and 8 miles southeast of Delta Junction
Hand crews from the BLM AFS, USARAK, and Fort Wainwright Department of Public Works created these piles over the past few summers as part of several hazardous fuels reduction projects conducted to reduce the risk of wildfire on military lands.
The piles will be ignited when weather conditions will minimize the impact of smoke on populated areas in accordance with open burn approvals issued by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC). The BLM AFS and USARAK are working with the ADEC and the National Weather Service to forecast and monitor smoke conditions to ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations governing air quality.
For more information about the prescribed fires on military training lands, contact the BLM AFS Dispatch Center in Fairbanks at (907) 356-5555 or BLM AFS Public Information Specialist Beth Ipsen at eipsen@blm.gov or (907)388-2159.
Map showing location of piles in the scheduled to be burned this fall in the Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction. 
Map showing where woody debris piles that are scheduled to be burned this fall are located within the Yukon Training Area.
Categories: AK Fire Info, BLM Alaska Fire Service, Donnelly Training Area, Prescribed Fire
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 