No burning allowed, Mat-Su borough says

MAT-SU -- If you see neighbors lighting a grass fire or setting flame to a burn barrel, don't hesitate to give them a piece of advice -- put it out.

This is the message from Division of Forestry and Central Mat-Su Fire Department officials as one of the earliest and most demanding fire seasons continues in the Valley.

As of last week, the Mat-Su Borough has banned all open burning. This includes lawn and field burning, as well as burn barrels, campfires and bon fires. Borough officials are also advising people to be extremely cautious with wood-burning stoves and fireplaces.

Typically such a burn ban is imposed by the Division of Forestry, which administers burn permits. Because of a legal technicality, however, forestry does not yet have that authority -- by state statute the official fire season doesn't begin until May 1.

Don't tell that to local firefighting crews, however. They estimate they have battled more than 100 blazes in recent weeks and as of earlier this week the trend continued. Lynn Wilcock, fire management officer with the Division of Forestry, said burn barrels have been the source of some of the recent fires and so they are included in the current ban.

"People are sometimes not aware of that," he said.

Because of the volatility of the situation, local fire officials say residents shouldn't hesitate to blow the whistle on a neighbor who is burning despite the ban -- it may be their own home at stake. Michael Keenan, battalion chief with Central Mat-Su Fire Department, said people should call forestry or the nearby fire department if they see a blaze.

"We just want people to know this burn ban is in place until we get some significant rain or snow," Keenan said.

If possible, Wilcock advises neighbors to help each other out.

"Sometimes you simply can point it out to your neighbor. They might not be aware of the burn ban," Wilcock said. He said if residents can help regulate each other it will save firefighters time as well as keeping neighbors out of trouble.

Wilcock said he couldn't predict if the dangerous conditions this spring will be typical of the rest of the fire season or when the burn ban will be lifted. That, he said, depends largely on weather conditions in the upcoming weeks.