FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Four small wildfires ignited in dry grass during military training south Delta Junction were swiftly extinguished Thursday. The fires occurred in the Jarvis Range in the Donnelly Training Area, a military range slated for upcoming annual prescribed burning by BLM Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) personnel to mitigate the risk of wildfire outbreaks from military activities.
Each year, BLM AFS collaborates with U.S. Army Garrison Alaska to conduct prescribed burns in training areas near Delta Junction, Eielson Air Force Base, and south of Fairbanks, clearing dead grass post-snowmelt to reduce wildfire risks to nearby communities, resources, and facilities.
U.S. Army helicopters were using the range for training when exposed, dry grass caught on fire. U.S. Army Garrison Alaska range control personnel quickly extinguished the fire. Snow has since blanketed the area with more forecasted over the weekend. This weather also pushed back prescribed burning in the Donnelly Training Area that was scheduled to start early next week.
The recent wildfires emphasize the critical importance of prescribed burning in military training areas, especially before the hotter summer months when surrounding woodlands become dry and highly susceptible to fire. Undertaking these proactive measures in spring is essential, given the potential strain on firefighting resources later in the fire season, heightening the risk of managing large wildfires effectively.
Last year, nearly 50,000 acres were treated during these prescribed burns on military training lands including:
- Donnelly Training Areas near Delta Junction.
- Yukon Training Area near Eielson Air Force Base.
- Small Arms Complex on Fort Wainwright between North Pole and Fairbanks.
In order to consider a training area treated and calling the prescribed burn operation successful, the threat of wildfire is effectively reduced. This is typically accomplished by burning a thick enough swath along the edges of the area’s perimeter that if a wildfire is ignited, it is unable to burn outside the training area.
There are multiple success stories in recent years from prescribed burns keeping wildfires small.
Of the 3.1 million acres burned in Alaska in 2022, only 145 acres burned in the 19 fires that occurred on military training lands in Interior Alaska. Some of these fires were quickly put out by range personnel staged at training areas specifically to keep an eye out for fires ignited during training. Other fires on the larger, more remote ranges were kept confined because they had nowhere to go, mostly because firefighters burned off the dead grass during prescribed fires in the springtime.
The BLM AFS remains committed to collaborating with the military to continue these annual prescribed burns for reducing the risk of wildfires and safeguarding nearby communities, resources, and facilities. Despite weather delays, BLM AFS is eager to resume prescribed burning operations and sustain efforts to mitigate wildfire threats in the region.
Through these ongoing initiatives, the BLM AFS, the U.S. Army and Air Force aim to maintain the success achieved in recent years, where prescribed burns have played a vital role in limiting the scale and impact of wildfires in Interior Alaska.
Contact BLM AFS Public Affairs Specialist Beth Ipsen at (907)388-2159 or eipsen@blm.gov for more information.
-BLM-
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, P.O. Box 35005 1541 Gaffney Road, Fort Wainwright, Ak 99703
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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 244 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 $24 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.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, AK Fire Info, BLM Alaska Fire Service, Donnelly Training Area, Prescribed Fire
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 