New Mexico IMT supports Alaska village on and off the fireline

By BLM Alaska Fire Service on July 21, 2025

A smiling man holds a metal funnel in place atop a spout sticking out of a cardboard box while another man concentrates on pouring water from a metal pail in the funnel. — Northern New Mexico IMT Incident Commander Luke McLarty, left, and Operations Section Chief Brandon Glenn, fill an empty reusable cubie to help provide water to Huslia residents after the community’s water pump failed. The river water pictured was used to help keep toilets working. BLM AFS photo

The Northern New Mexico Incident Management Team recently supported the community of Huslia during its assignment on the Roundabout Complex, a group of wildfires in the remote Alaska Interior.

The team is made up mostly of firefighting and support staff from the southwestern U.S. As guests in Huslia, the team took responsibility for strengthening relationships to heart while working to protect the community from the nearby Moldy Fire. They had help from BLM Alaska Fire Service employees who were in Huslia with the team, including Incident Commander trainee and BLM AFS Fire Specialist Melissa Fischer and BLM AFS Galena Zone’s Matt Kilgriff and Gina Troy, who provided logistical support and local knowledge to help navigate the unique challenges of managing wildfires in rural Alaska.

But the New Mexico team’s support for the community went beyond wildfire response. When Huslia’s main water pump suffered a failure that wasn’t related to the fire, the team didn’t hesitate to help. They gathered empty 5-gallon reusable water containers, known as cubies, that had been used to hydrate fire crews and support personnel. Using local boat operators and boats, they helped ferry the containers 17 miles downriver to collect drinking water from a spring. They also set up a portable tank to hold river water for use in the village’s toilets.

For six days, the team worked alongside community members to ensure everyone had access to water until the residents could repair the pump. Huslia’s water system is now back up and running.

The incident management team has since demobilized, turning management of the fires back to BLM AFS in good shape for continued work.

BLM AFS thanks the Northern New Mexico Incident Management Team for their hard work, professionalism, and willingness to go above and beyond in supporting the community of Huslia.

Contact BLM AFS Public Affairs Specialist Beth Ipsen at (907)356-5510 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 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. 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.