Burn ban on as Valley dries out

Frontiersman

MAT-SU — Not to ruin holiday picnics, but this Fourth of July weekend might be a good time to hope for rain.

The state’s Division of Forestry on Thursday issued a temporary burn ban, which applies to all burn permits, including burn barrels. Officials are also urging caution when starting campfires this weekend.

Fire danger is high in the Mat-Su Valley and surrounding areas, as evidenced by a wildfire in Anchorage that scorched 10 acres Wednesday, drawing responders from Palmer Forestry to help douse the flames. Some of those resources are still tied up there.

“We’re at high fire danger right now and when we start getting rain it’s going to go down quickly,” said Glen Holt, forestry spokesman.

It looks like rain is coming, but that can’t be counted on, he said, adding that if the level of water in area creeks is any indication, the Valley is parched.

The Fourth of July presents its own set of problems for Forestry. Not only are more people out starting campfires and blasting off fireworks, but there are more people clogging the roads.

“It’s problematic,” Holt said, and having a water-dropping helicopter like the one stationed in Palmer is, in those situations, crucial.

About this time of year is when the busy season begins winding down for Forestry, Holt said. The Gannett Glacier fire crew is in the Lower 48 working on wildfires there. Statewide, 66 Forestry personnel are in the Lower 48. Six of those are from the Mat-Su. That’s usually what happens when Alaska’s fire season ends, he said.

With the local danger climbing, the decision has been to hold on to whatever resources Palmer has at least until after the weekend, Holt said. The Pioneer Peak hot-shot crew, for example, is coming down this week from a fire in Venetie.

“We’re going to hold on to them for a while,” Holt said.

It’s been a strange fire season with little rain to speak of, but few large fires. While the Valley leads the states in number of fires started, with 86, the acreage burned is relatively low. Which is good, Holt said, as it means crews “have been able to catch them and keep them small and put them out.”

What causes wildfire in Alaska are mainly humans, which concerns the Division of Forestry during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“We don’t get lightening fires here very often,” Holt said. “We really get fires more than anything else that are human-caused.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.