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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 over $15 million in 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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Moving the firefighter train
April 28, 2015 10:21 a.m. A U.S. Navy Admiral is known to have said, “I don’t know what the hell this ‘logistics’ is that Marshall is always talking about, but I want some of it.” That quote probably still holds for the… Read More ›
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Wildland fire prevention and preparedness week…
April 11, 2015 9:13 a.m. …Starts today! Alaska Governor Bill Walker has signed a proclamation declaring April 11-17 as Alaska Wildland Fire Prevention and Preparedness Week. The Alaska wildland fire season is fast approaching. Yes, I know it’s snowing today: current weather… Read More ›
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Before fire season, there is training season
April 7, 2015 11:45 a.m. The majority of Firefighters in the BLM Alaska Fire Service are either career seasonal or temporary workers. After fire season, they pack up and leave for different parts of the world: a word about those… Read More ›
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Smokejumper training begins April 6
April 6, 2015 4:48 p.m. Smokejumpers from the BLM Alaska Fire Service will conduct training jumps starting April 6, 2015 and continue most afternoons during the month of April and through May 23 in preparation for the upcoming fire season. The… Read More ›
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What’s the Alaska Fire Service?
April 1, 2015 You work for the Alaska Fire Service? What is that? Are you part of the state? My fourth fire season is approaching and I still get questions like the ones above. Here’s the thing. Not only from… Read More ›
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The AFS North Star Fire Crew is recruiting for 2015
March 10, 2015 2 p.m. The BLM Alaska Fire Service North Star Fire Crew is recruiting interested individuals for the 2015 fire season which runs from May through August. The North Star Fire Crew is designed to provide an experienced pool… Read More ›
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More lightning related fire activity in western Alaska
August 13, 2014 11:40 a.m. Lightning activity continues to spark fires in Alaska as six new fires were detected in western Alaska on August 12. All of the fires are located in the Alaska Fire Service Galena Zone that covers… Read More ›
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Fire activity continues in Alaska
August 12, 2014 12:35 p.m. Fire season in Alaska feels like it’s over. Constant rain and resources sent to Lower 48 may reinforce that notion, but fire season goes on. Human related fire activity presents a constant threat for fire… Read More ›
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2nd jet load of Alaska Type 2 crews to Lower 48
August 11, 2014 10:47 a.m. A second jet load of five Emergency Firefighter (EFF) crews was requested for fire assignment in northern California with a scheduled departure of August 12. The crews consist of 20 firefighters each for a total… Read More ›
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The Alaska Fire Service is focused on Lower-48
August 7, 2014 You can call it all but over. The fire season in Alaska was the slowest it has been in a few years. The Alaska Fire Service has dealt with 32 fires for a total of 25,616 acres… Read More ›
