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BLM AFS, USARAK to burn debris piles on military lands in Interior Alaska

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FAIRBANKS, Alaska – 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, Oct. 1. Burning operations for piles may continue, as conditions allow, until Oct. 21.  

The roughly 1,000 piles targeted for burning are located and are prioritized in this order:  

  • Fort Wainwright Main Post:  Two different locations in the vicinity of Birch Hill.  
  • Tanana Flats Training Area: One location 12 miles south of Fairbanks and another location 2 miles west of Salcha.  
  • Yukon Training Area:  Several locations between 5 miles north and 15 miles east of Eielson Air Force Base.  
  • Delta Training Area:  Several locations between 15 miles west and 8 miles southeast of Delta Junction.  

Crews from the BLM AFS and USARAK 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 locations of woody debris piles on military training lands south of Delta Junction scheduled for prescribed burning this fall.
Map showing locations of woody debris piles on military training lands south of Delta Junction scheduled for prescribed burning this fall. Click on link for PDF version of map.
Map showing locations of woody debris piles scheduled for burning this fall. The red dots mark the locations on Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks, Tanana Flats Training Area south of Fairbanks and the Yukon Training Area north and east of Eielson Air Force Base.
Map showing locations of woody debris piles scheduled for burning this fall. The red dots mark the locations on Fort Wainwright near Fairbanks, Tanana Flats Training Area south of Fairbanks and the Yukon Training Area north and east of Eielson Air Force Base. Click on link for PDF version of map.

– BLM – 

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The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS) located at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, provides wildland fire suppression services for over 240 million acres of Department of the Interior and Native Corporation Lands in Alaska. In addition, AFS has other statewide responsibilities that include: interpretation of fire management policy; oversight of the BLM Alaska Aviation program; fuels management projects; and operating and maintaining advanced communication and computer systems such as the Alaska Lightning Detection System. AFS also maintains a National Incident Support Cache with a $10 million inventory. The Alaska Fire Service provides wildland fire suppression services for America’s “Last Frontier” on an interagency basis with the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Military in Alaska. 

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Categories: BLM Alaska Fire Service, Fuel Break Project, Prescribed Fire

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