The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK), will be burning piles of woody debris on the Donnelly Training Area south of Delta Junction and the Gerstle River Training Area southeast of Delta Junction. Burning operations may start as early as Friday, Oct. 26 and […]
Continue reading
AFS emergency firefighters to undergo medical exams starting in November
The BLM Alaska Fire Service, in partnership with the Department of Interior Medical Standards Program (DOI MSP), will soon deliver medical exams to federal emergency firefighters. The goal of the exams is to increase safety by identifying pre-existing conditions that could be aggravated by the arduous duty of wildland firefighting. The medical exams will be […]
Continue reading
EFF crews head south to help with busy fire season
Four Type 2 Emergency Firefighter crews said goodbye to Alaska and its cloudy, rainy skies Sunday morning and headed to the heat of the Lower 48 to help with a busy fire season. The crews from Fairbanks and numerous rural villages boarded a plane bound for Spokane, Wash. where they will then be bussed to […]
Continue readingWork completed on last staffed fire in Alaska
With the perimeter 100 percent contained, the remaining 39 firefighters left on the last staffed fire in Alaska will demobilize from the Tiechovun Fire today. The Alaska Division of Forestry’s Type 2 Initial Attack White Mountain Crew and Type 2 UAF Nanook Fire Crew are the last two crews to come off of the Tiechovun Lake […]
Continue reading
Five Alaska wildfire crews heading south to assist in western states
With wildfire season cooling down in Alaska and heating up in the western United States, the Alaska Division of Forestry and U.S. Forest Service are deploying a handful of initial attack crews to the Lower 48 to assist with firefighting efforts there. Five initial attack crews will board a National Interagency Coordination Center jet in […]
Continue readingHigh winds turn house fire into 9-acre wildfire in Delta Junction
Wildland firefighters from the Alaska Division of Forestry are mopping up a 9-acre fire in Delta Junction today after a structure fire spread into the wildlands Monday night. The state forestry office in Delta Junction was notified of a structure fire on Hanson Road at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Monday. A helicopter and engines from […]
Continue reading
BLM AFS working on two new fires in Yukon Flats
The BLM Alaska Fire Service is working on two wind-driven fires that broke out in the Yukon Flats on Monday. Four water-scooping Fire Boss aircraft and 16 smokejumpers were on the ground trying to suppress the Tiechovun Lake Fire (#304) that threatened four Native land allotments and a cabin about 44 miles east of Fort […]
Continue readingSmaller team managing Zitziana River and Mooseheart fires; three new fire starts
A small contingent of firefighters remain on the Zitziana River (#133) and Mooseheart (#204) fires Friday morning as command transfers to a Type 4 management organization. Due to forecasted weather and moderating fire activity, fire managers have been reducing the number of firefighters providing point protection for cabins and allotments in the areas around the […]
Continue readingMore lightning holdover fires discovered; Zitziana River and Mooseheart fires demobilize
Firefighters on the Zitziana River (#133) and Mooseheart (#204) fires are packing up and backhauling excess equipment from the fireline as the drawdown of forces continues. Due to forecasted weather and moderating fire activity, fire managers are reducing the number of firefighters assigned. A small contingent of firefighters will remain to provide point protection […]
Continue reading
Fire activity moderates on Zitziana River and Mooseheart fires
Scattered rain showers over night were reported on portions of the Zitziana River (#133) and Mooseheart (#204) fires. Forecasted weather calls for mostly cloudy skies and scattered thunderstorms over the area of both fires today. Smokejumpers are positioned on Iksgiza Lake to assess and prepare cabins for structure protection should the need arise. Firefighters continue […]
Continue reading