Author Archives
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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Smokejumpers protecting cabin, Native allotment from East Fork Fire north of St. Mary’s
Smokejumpers anticipate having a few days of work ahead of them to ensure the East Fork Fire won’t impact the allotment. Additionally, this will allow fire personnel to be in the area if they are needed to move to other allotments and cabins that need protection from the 2,000-acre fire burning in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. This lightning-caused fire started Tuesday.
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Smokejumpers wrapping up work on two new lightning-caused tundra fires in Western Alaska
Twelve smokejumpers are working on two lightning-caused tundra fires burning within 20 miles of Kotlik close to the Norton Sound in Western Alaska. The Hogback Hill Fire (#157) and the Pastolik River Fire (#158) were discovered by BLM AFS personnel aboard a fire detection flight Monday evening.
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First of seven BLM AFS Type 2 contract crews available for wildfire response
The Mooseheart Crew with assembly points in Minto and Tanana got the honor of being the first of seven BLM Alaska Fire Service Type 2 contract crews available for the 2022 Alaska Fire Season.
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Alaskans should prepare for wildfire season
Advice from Alaska Wildland Fire Managers reminding people of key ways to protect each other and our communities from wildfire dangers.
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Prescribed burn operations planned on military training lands in FNSB to reduce wildfire threat
Starting as early as May 14, prescribed burning will be implemented on military training lands within the Fairbanks North Star Borough to reduce the wildfire danger.
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Smokejumpers mopping up wildfire after first jump of the 2022 Alaska fire season
Six BLM Alaska Fire Service Smokejumpers are mopping up a 4.6-acre fire that started near at Pitkas Point about 4 miles of southwest St. Mary’s after the first fire jump of the 2022 Alaska fire season for smokejumpers.
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Burning operations planned for military training lands in Interior Alaska to reduce wildfire threat
BLM Alaska Fire Service and U.S. Army Alaska to conduct prescribed burning on military training lands near Delta Junction, Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright to reduce wildfire threat. Burning could start as early as May 1 and last through May 31.
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History of the fire beater
How Alaska smokejumper ingenuity led to the development of a tool widely used by Alaska wildland firefighters.
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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.
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 