BLM AFS, U.S. Army to burn debris piles on military training lands in Interior Alaska

By BLM Alaska Fire Service on October 3, 2024

Smoke may be visible on Fort Wainwright, from the Richardson Highway and east of Eielson Air Force Base, and from the Chena Hot Springs Road

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Garrison Alaska, will burn piles of woody debris on military training lands in Interior Alaska starting as early as Sunday, Oct. 6. Burning operations for piles may continue, as conditions allow, until Oct. 31.

Crews from the BLM AFS and the Garrison 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 slated for burning were created with the unsalvageable wood left over from these projects.

The roughly 650 piles targeted for burning are shown on this map and are prioritized in this order:

Fort Wainwright Main Post: Six different locations in the vicinity of Birch Hill, River Road and Badger Gate.
Yukon Training Area: Three locations north and east of Eielson Air Force Base.

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 the Garrison 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 Affairs Specialist Beth Ipsen at eipsen@blm.gov or 907-356-5510.

AFS_PileRX_Fall2024_Announcement_20241003 Download

BLM Alaska Fire Service map showing orange dots for locations of woody debris pile burning on Fort Wainwright and east of Eielson Air Force Base. Find PDF version of the map here.

-BLM-

Bureau Of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, 1541 Gaffney Rd, Fort Wainwright, AK 99703

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Learn more at www.blm.gov/AlaskaFireService, and on Facebook and Twitter. To learn more about wildland fire in Alaska, visit akfireinfo.com.

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 $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.