A cloud of smoke billows out from the Marie Creek wildfire in Alaska.
NPS photo
Fires are a major concern for any widely forested area. As early as July, fires in 2015 had burned over 3.1 million acres of forest! It's true that sometimes fires are needed for the growth of forests, but only nature and fire professionals--the experts--should be the judge, so keep your fires contained!
It's easy to make mistakes; roots and other organic matter can still burn a foot or more underground even after you extinguish you fire. You are still ultimately responsible for your fire.
If you are an educator, make sure to visit our Materials for Loan page for information on how to sign out the Fire in Alaska Kit, and many other subjects, for use with your students!
Smokey Bear presenting a message on forest fires.
US Forest Service
Campfire Safety
There are a few easy steps to follow in keeping a safe campfire:
Locate your fire in a spot where the fire cannot spread.
Use already existing campfire sites wherever possible, especially if the campground area has provided metal rings or grills, or a circle of stones.
Use a "Fire Pan," which is a metal container with sides of height sufficient to contain all ash and debris, to reduce your chances of starting a wildfire. These pans may be improvised, but are also available for purchase in a variety of sizes and designs.
Make sure you choose a spot that won't ignite overhead branches. Keep in mind that sparks can travel pretty far!
Clear away needles and twigs that might allow your fire to spread.
Keep water nearby just in case things get out of hand.
Do not leave your campfire unattended.
If you are worried about fire safety, consider using a propane stove to cook your food. They are easy to use and safer than an open fire.You should take equal care in making sure your fires are effectively extinguished.
Dig up all material with a shovel down to the permafrost or mineral soil.
Douse the fire with large amounts of water and stir with a stick or shovel until the area is cool to the touch.
Double check for remaining heat, especially from the edge of the campfire.
Firefighters manage a controlled burn on the edge of grasslands.
USFWS
Benefits of Fire
Help new grasses and shrubs to grow, attracting meadow voles, other rodents, and grouse. Foxes, martens, and birds of prey soon follow.
Increase herbs and willow shoots for moose to browse in burned areas. The new berry bushes attract bears.
Recycle nutrients into the soil.
Clear dense shrubbery and warm the soil, resulting in improved drainage and fertility.
Be a tool in land management. This is called prescribed burning, and it is used to:
Create changes in habitat that allow increased and more diverse use by wildlife.
Prepare logged-over areas for reforestation.
Make firebreaks to slow the advance of the forest fire.
Clear land, to reduce fire hazard or allow for other uses.
Wildfires shape the landscape by creating a patchwork of meadows, shrub lands, birch, and spruce forests. As you travel in Alaska, see different plant communities by the changes in vegetation.
Learn more: The US Fish and Wildlife Service explains the benefits of fire on an ecosystem.
Bureau of Land Management pumper trucks sit on standby in a parking lot.
National Interagency Fire Center
Fire Protection Levels
All lands in Alaska have been placed in one of four categories. These “Fire Protection Levels” set priorities for fire fighting.
Critical Protection: Areas where humans live or habitations are present have priority over all others. Immediate and continuous efforts are made to minimize loss of life and damage to property.
Full Protection: Valuable resources, such as commercial timbers stands and historic structures, exist; however, no human life or habitations exist in these areas. Immediate and aggressive action is taken to limit the number of acres burned.
Modified Action: Uninhabited; with resources of lesser value. Land managers consider trade off of acres burned versus suppression expenses. Fires during critical burning months are attacked, but a lower level of protection is provided when risks of large, damaging fires is less.
Limited Action: Areas where natural fires are beneficial, or where the costs of fighting the fire are greater than the fire damage. Suppression efforts are limited to keeping a fire within a designated area or protecting critical sites within areas.
Come visit the National Interagency Fire Center to learn more about how these differ from national Fire Preparation Levels.
In the 1700's, when Captain Cook entered what is now called Cook Inlet, he found caribou, but no moose in the area we know as the Kenai Peninsula. It is thought that the fires of 1941 burned off the spruce and created the first growth birch, willow, and aspen stands—making the area an ideal habitat for moose.
There is evidence that the entire 25 million acres of the Copper River Basin all burned at some time, long ago.
The 1977 Bear Creek fire, near Farewell, burned 345,000 acres. Grass grew up after the fire, attracting bison herds to the area. Land and game managers are reburning to maintain a habitat for the bison.
In 2013, Alaska had a hot summer; during that year, fires burned 1,319,866 acres. In 2014, Alaska had one of its wettest summers ever; during that year, fires burned 233,529 acres.
According to game biologists, if there were no fires, there wouldn’t be opportunities for birch, willow, and aspen to grow. All three of these species are staples in a typical moose diet. So, in a weird way, if there were no fires, there would be no moose.
In Alaska, lightning starts about 400 fires a year.
Cars travel on a smoke-filled road in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Creative Commons/Joseph H
What About Smoke?
At times, smoke from wildfires can and does drift into populated areas. When you encounter these unpleasant side effects of natural fires, stop and think about the value of fires to the Alaskan ecosystem. If smoke, however, should become health hazard or interfere with transportation, action should be taken.
Smoke…
Is a mixture of particles and gases given off through combustion.
Has color and other characteristics that change depending upon fuels and the rate of combustion.
Is transported by winds at all levels, of our atmosphere—not only by ground winds.
May stay in valleys or river bottoms if there is an inversion.
Can be from a prescribed fire. If so, it is in accordance with a smoke management plan.
Learn what the CDC recommends for contending with smoke from wildfires.
