Wildland Fire Use practitioners at Denali National Park and Preserve have a new Alaska-specific fire use reference guide. During a demanding 2005 fire season, one in which fires grew to twice the size of Mesa Verde National Park, fire management staff realized the need for Alaska specific values in the wildland fire use implementation process. These values would address Alaska’s unique fire management environment which includes fire dependent landscapes, sparse values to be protected, and the potential for large fires (greater than 4,000 acres). Through an analysis of fire history data, historical weather, Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System indices, MODIS and current political, social and management issues specific to Denali, regional and park fire staff developed the Wildland Fire Use Reference Guide to provide a decision making tool for fire use managers at Denali. Their objectives were to,
- Ensure the planning level (Stage I, II, III), fire staff work load, and fire use manager decisions are commensurate with the wildland fire relative risk.
- Ensure all fires with high relative risk are identified and receive the appropriate planning and implementation.
- Enable fire use managers to consistently apply the implementation procedures with values appropriate to Alaska, values which may be different from those encountered in other regions.
The reference guide provides a consistent method to assess wildland fire relative risk and required management capabilities and qualifications. Based upon its successful development and field testing, this guide is the prototype for developing other guides. Reference guides specific to other NPS Alaska parklands are currently under development.
The guide has stimulated interagency interest. Hard copies were provided to 2007 S580 students and hard copies with a poster were on display at the 2006 NPS Fire Management workshop. To date, numerous electronic copies have been sent to individuals in the fire interagency community for their review and use for development of their own unit’s guide. If you are interested in reading the guide, please contact Dan Warthin at Dan_Warthin@nps.gov.
Contact: Morgan Miller, AK NPS Regional Wildland Fire Communication and Education Specialist
Phone: (907) 683-6423
*This story supports the National Fire Plan |
