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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 $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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BLM innovates rural Alaska wildland firefighting and keeps traditions alive
BLM AFS Type 2 contract crews are predominately made up of Alaska Natives whose families have spent generations working on emergency firefighting hand crews in Alaska, supplementing agency employee crews.
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BLM Alaska’s Jenn Jenkins receives global award for creation of widely used online fire information maps
BLM Alaska GIS Specialist Jennifer Jenkins received the Esri Special Achievement in geographic information systems (GIS) award this summer for creating mobile-friendly online dashboards that provide near real-time information about wildfires in Alaska and maps that deliver more in-depth information than before in the Alaska Wildland Fire Information Map Series.
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BLM AFS, USARAK to burn debris piles on Interior Alaska military training lands
Smoke may be visible from woody debris pile burning on the Yukon Training Area east of North Pole and Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction.
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Work finishing up on Yukon Flats fires
The BLM Alaska Fire Service is wrapping up work on a pair of Yukon Flats fire this week as the days get shorter, cooler and wetter. With work reaching completion, equipment and firefighting personnel will be pulled from both the Marten Creek Fire (#386) and the Discovery Creek Fire (#388) on Wednesday.
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BLM AFS awards three contracts for Alaska village-based Type 2 wildland firefighting crews in Western Alaska
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) awarded three contracts for additional Type 2 wildland firefighting hand crews based in Western Alaska villages. The contractors selected will base crews in the Galena Fire Management Zone that covers most of Western Alaska.
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Firefighters continue to work as drier weather returns to the Yukon Flats
Wetting rains fell on the pair of fires burning in the Yukon Flats, but the drier weather is forecasted to return in the upcoming days. Despite the moisture that significantly moderated fire behavior on Thursday, it is not enough to put the Marten Creek and Discovery Creek fires out.
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Sustained rainfall finally materializes on Yukon Flats fires
The rainfall predicted for several days finally arrived on the pair of fires burning in the Yukon Flats. However, the forecasted amount is not likely to put out the Discovery Creek and Marten Creek Fires.
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Fire activity increases on Yukon Flats fires Tuesday
There was an uptick in fire behavior on the pair of fires burning in the Yukon Flats Tuesday as firefighters continue to work to protect Native allotments, historical cabins and the village of Venetie. The fire activity has been building for three days in a row due to the sunshine, temperatures in the 60s and lack of rain.
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Yukon Flats fires remain active as predicted rains fail to materialize
Predicted showers have not materialized over the fire areas as prolonged dry conditions and sunny skies instigated increased fire behavior on the Marten Creek and Discovery Creek fires Monday.
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Fire season lingers in the Yukon Flats while rain douses much of Alaska
While most of Alaska is seeing a significant amount of rain, the Yukon Flats continues to experience sunny skies with minimal amounts of moisture. Two of the staffed fires in Alaska – the Marten Creek Fire and the Discovery Creek Fire burning about 30 miles northwest of Venetie – are in the Yukon Flats.
AK Fire Info 