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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 AFS busy with Yukon River fires
July 16, 2016 – The BLM Alaska Fire Service has been busy with fires along the Yukon River corridor that were threatening structures upriver from Rampart and burning near a Bible camp downriver from Tanana. A load of eight smokejumpers… Read More ›
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BLM AFS smokejumpers catch fire near Minto Friday
July 16, 2016 – BLM Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers caught a fire burning north of the Elliott Highway near Minto Friday. The Starvation Creek Fire (#527) was spotted by an agency aircraft at 7:20 p.m. Friday while it was flying… Read More ›
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Fire gains ground, threatens lodge near Gates of the Arctic
July 16, 2016 – A fire burning 25 miles east of Kobuk grew from 1,355 to an estimated 35,000 acres and pushed nine miles in two days thanks to recent record high temperatures, low humidity and winds. The Mauneluk River 2 fire (#386)… Read More ›
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BLM AFS smokejumpers responding to fire north of Minto
9 p.m., July 15, 2016 – BLM Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers and aircraft are en route to a fire burning north of Minto and directly north of the Elliott Highway at milepost 106. Once there, they’ll be busy trying to… Read More ›
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BLM AFS sees 21 new fires Thursday
July 15, 2016 – For the second day in a row, there were more than 40 new fires in Alaska, most of them burning in a limited protection area in remote parts of the state. BLM Alaska Fire Service will… Read More ›
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Hot weather, 18,000 lightning strikes behind uptick in fire activity
July 14, 2016 – High temperatures coupled with more than 18,000 lightning strikes throughout Alaska in the past two days resulted in 43 new ignitions and increased activity on already burning fires with more of the same anticipated this evening…. Read More ›
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Motorists and aviators report smoke from fires burning off the Dalton Highway
July 13, 2016 – People driving the Dalton Highway or flying near Bettles may see smoke from two fires burning in the area. The Bureau of Land Management Fairbanks District Office and BLM Alaska Fire Service have received numerous reports… Read More ›
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BLM Alaska Fire Service continues to protect structures, allotments near Iniakuk Lake
July 7, 2016 – The BLM Alaska Fire Service continues to work on protecting cabins and allotments from a fire burning on the east side of Iniakuk Lake located about 42 miles northwest of Bettles. The Iniakuk Fire (#320) activity slowed on Tuesday due to higher humidity levels and cloud cover in the area,… Read More ›
