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.
Potential contractors have until April 26 to submit proposals The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) is accepting contract proposals for Type 2 wildland firefighting hand crews based in Western Alaska villages for the 2021 fire season…. Read More ›
Alaskan firefighting personnel support national vaccination effort Several Alaskan firefighting personnel including BLM Alaska Fire Service employees have stepped up to aid the effort to provide COVID-19 vaccinations across the nation. Five AFS personnel and an emergency hire sponsored by BLM in Alaska are working in support of a mechanism that allows utilizing firefighting… Read More ›
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) is now accepting applications for the 2021 North Star Fire Crew. Based at BLM AFS headquarters on Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, the North Star Crew is a Type 2 training… Read More ›
Solicitation period expected Feb. 25- March 26, 2021 FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Contract proposals for Western Alaska Village-based Type 2 wildland firefighting hand crews will be sought for the 2021 fire season by about March 26, 2021, according to a pre-solicitation notice published… Read More ›
March 3 update: All federal emergency firefighters in Alaska must have the medical certification by March 30 in order to participate in the Work Capacity Test (pack test) for the 2021 fire season. Original information (Jan. 26): All Emergency Firefighter… Read More ›
Signs of Smoke No Cause for Alarm to Tanacross, Tok or motorists FAIRBANKS – The Bureau of Land Management personnel will burn woody debris piles on land it manages near Tanacross Oct. 26-31 to reduce the risk of wildfire, protect private property… Read More ›
Alaska-based BLM hotshot crews, Chena and Midnight Sun, have traveled to support the fire suppression effort in the Lower 48 intermittently since 1987.
Having qualified and capable medical first responders among initial attack firefighters directly on the fireline is crucial to treating trauma in the field, especially in Alaska. Organized by BLM AFS, this three-week Basic EMT class is routinely offered to AFS and State of Alaska wildland firefighters who may be the only ones working on a remote fire.
BLM AFS makes Interior villages more resilient to wildfires This year’s unusually slow fire season enabled the BLM Alaska Fire Service to start working on protecting the Interior Alaska community of Alatna from future wildfires. The BLM AFS Chena Hotshot… Read More ›
Starting as early as Monday, the BLM Alaska Fire Service North Star Fire Crew will burn piles of woody debris created to reduce the risk of wildfire on military training lands near Eielson Air Force Base. This effort is a collaboration between the BLM AFS and the U.S. Army Alaska. As conditions allow, the burning could continue through August.
