BLM Alaska Fire Service – Alaska Wildland Fire Information

A person holds the toggles while descending to the ground underneath a red, white and blue parachute.

U.S. Wildland Fire Service Alaska Smokejumper training jumps start March 23

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on March 20, 2026

As BLM AFS prepares for the inevitable approach of fire season, these elite firefighters are gearing up with their parachute training jumps.

Graphic of three silhouetted firefighters walking against the orange glow of a fire with the words "Hot Jobs, North Star Crew is Hiring" across the top.

Recruitment for BLM AFS North Star Fire Crew is open for 2026 season

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on February 12, 2026

Recruitment for the 2026 BLM Alaska Fire Service Type 2 North Star Fire Crew is open until April 1. This entry-level crew provides a pathway to a career in wildland firefighting.

Three male firefighters digging in the dirt while working in a forest.

BLM Alaska Fire Service seeks wildland firefighting crew and suppression module contract proposals

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on September 30, 2025

Deadline is Nov. 10 for potential contractors to submit proposals to provide wildland fire crews and fire suppression modules based in northern Alaska.

Graphic featuring five photos of Alaska smokejumpers in action from looking out of an airplane at the fire on the ground, to jumping out of an airplane, to a parachuted descent with a smoke column in the background, and firefighters using beaters to try to beat out the edges of a tundra fire.

Recruitment for 2026 rookie Alaska Smokejumper candidates is NOW OPEN!

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on September 18, 2025

The BLM Alaska Fire Service is looking for hard working, physically fit, intelligent and experienced wildland firefighters interested in becoming Alaska Smokejumpers. Job announcements open Sept. 29-Oct. 27, 2025 on USAJobs.gov for the 2026 fire season.

Five people either sitting or standing on a porch. Four are smiling while an unsmiling woman stands.

Cookies, kin, community, and coordination: BLM AFS Galena Fire Station wraps up a season to remember

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on September 12, 2025

As the fire season comes to a close in Alaska, the BLM Alaska Fire Service has shut down its remote station in Galena. After a busy season supporting 71 wildfires in the Galena Zone – BLM AFS’s farthest west protection zone – almost all personnel have either returned to AFS headquarters in Fairbanks, are working on fires in the Lower 48, or have finished for the season.

A mostly black and white map of Alaska with with thousands of red dots representing recorded lightning ground strikes across the state stretching from the Canadian border on the right to the far northwest corner of the state on the top left. A key on the right lists the break up of 15,718 lightning strikes between the different parts of the state.

What triggered the wildfire surge across Interior Alaska around solstice?

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on August 29, 2025

More than 170 wildfires ignited across Interior Alaska between June 15 and 29 during the 2025 Alaska fire season, most sparked by lightning. Fueled by hot, dry weather and almost 83,000 lightning strikes near the summer solstice, several fires quickly threatened homes, disrupted highways, and triggered evacuations across vast distances.

Two people waring yellow shirts and green pants load wildland firefighting equipment onto an airboat on the banks of a river. A man stands on the river bank while handing a woman on the boat white hose.

Few staffed fires remain as firefighters demobilize across BLM AFS protection area

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on August 1, 2025

The number of staffed fires in the BLM Alaska Fire Service protection area continues to decline. Most fires are now in monitor status. Some are being allowed to fulfill their natural ecological role, while firefighters focus on protecting nearby sites of value, transporting unneeded equipment back to the BLM AFS Cache in Fairbanks, or completing administrative tasks.

A large column of smoke drifts up from a burned area as seen from an aircraft.

BLM AFS fire updates: Dry conditions linger in northeastern Alaska

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on July 28, 2025

While fire season is winding down in much of Alaska, eastern regions remain hot and dry, keeping fire danger elevated. A load of BLM Alaska Fire Service smokejumpers is mobilizing Monday evening to protect an Alaska Native allotment from the Christian Fire (#255), about 50 miles north of Fort Yukon.

Aviation resources prove critical to monitoring and operational planning on fires in northeastern Alaska

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on July 27, 2025

A detection flight yesterday flew several fires in the Alaska Fire Service (AFS) Upper Yukon Zone, which covers northeastern Alaska, to monitor fire behavior and activity. Daily helicopter reconnaissance flights on the Ptarmigan Complex fires are also helping firefighters determine future work and resource needs based on fire behavior.

The bottom half of the image is bare, light brown earth with six netted piles of gear including white hose laid out. A helicopter is stationed further away on the bare dirt, with three firefighters nearby. There are cloudy blue-gray skies above the people and fire gear.

Two fires declared out on Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve; Ptarmigan Complex efforts remain focused on monitoring, restoration

By U.S. Wildland Fire Service on July 26, 2025

A slight uptick in containment on the Ptarmigan Complex and two additionally fires declared out in the Upper Yukon Zone reflect the dedicated work of firefighters to actively monitor area fires and strategically respond.