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.
Update on Feb. 21, 2020: BLM Alaska Fire Service personnel completed burning woody debris piles in the Donnelly Training Area West (DTAW) between Feb. 9-12. They were able to burn the remaining 54 large, machine-built piles on the far west… Read More ›
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS) is soliciting contracts for Type 2 wildland firefighting hand crews based in rural Alaska villages for the 2020 fire season. Multiple contractors may be selected to base crews in communities… Read More ›
The BLM Alaska Fire Service uses Type 2 Emergency Firefighters (EFF)/Administratively Determined (AD) fire crews and single resource personnel to supplement its regular workforce in the event of wildfire emergencies. The program, which is separate from the State of Alaska’s… Read More ›
Alaskan tapped as liaison during firefighting efforts in Australia After two days of travel from the northern hemisphere to the land down under, BLM Alaska Fire Service Associate Manager Kyle Cowan arrived in Sydney where he’ll be the be a… Read More ›
Wildland firefighters face all kinds of hazards during fire season. When firefighters fall ill or get injured, getting them needed medical care is not a matter of simply calling 911. The nearest hospital is often a 300-mile flight away, pushing… Read More ›
The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (BLM AFS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Alaska (USARAK), will burn piles of woody debris on military training lands in Interior Alaska starting as early as this Saturday. Burning operations for… Read More ›
September 5, 2019 3:00 p.m. swanlakefire We want to give a big shout out to the folks from National Crisis Response Canines on the Kenai Peninsula for getting up really early to visit our fire camp near Sterling yesterday. And… Read More ›
In mid-July storms passed through the Yukon Flats with thousands of lightning strikes. Drought conditions left the trees and duff layer very dry allowing fires to grow and difficult to contain. The rest of Alaska was also experiencing an extreme… Read More ›
Known for its rugged independence, the BLM Alaska Fire Service Galena Fire Management Zone supports all BLM AFS efforts across 93 million acres in western Alaska – an area roughly the size of Montana. Located 400 river miles and 271… Read More ›
Backhaul has begun in earnest on the Cornucopia Complex. Firefighters are working to pack up equipment like hose, fittings, sprinklers and pumps, as well as miscellaneous items like trash and food boxes, and get it all sent back to Fairbanks… Read More ›
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 