Seasonal Wildland Fire and Fuels Project Work Begins in Alaska for 2019

By Deborah Coble

National Park Service, Alaska Eastern Area Fire Management forestry technician, Mike Glinski, makes an initial cut, a face cut, on a hazard tree.

NPS/D. Coble

A fire crew of four from the National Park Service, Alaska Eastern Area Fire Management conducted the first 2019 fuels reduction project at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in June. It took approximately two weeks to complete.

The goal was to create a shaded fuel break around the park’s visitor center and headquarters area in Copper Center, Alaska. A shaded fuel break is a standard fire management strategy to lessen the fuels in an area where natural wildfires normally occur. Over time, fire suppression can lead to a dangerous buildup of combustible vegetation near buildings and other infrastructure. A shaded fuel break can prevent this buildup.

The fire crew removed dead and downed trees from a previous windstorm. Standing dead trees create hazards. They are very dry, catch fire easily, and create unnecessary safety risks for both the public and firefighters. All live hardwood trees were left in place. Hardwoods usually don’t carry fire like the more volatile conifer trees can.

National Park Service, Alaska Eastern Area Fire Management lead forestry technician, Kim Wong, checks her saw for gas and bar oil.

NPS/D. Coble

Completing the project was more involved than simply thinning and removing dead and downed fuels. The successful project took substantial planning. “It takes a considerable amount of time to conduct logistical planning for our fuels reduction treatment projects here in Alaska,” said lead forestry technician, Kim Wong. “There are several program departments and staff to coordinate with prior to starting a project. We work closely with the biologists, ecologists and cultural resource staff to ensure our projects are conducted to the standards previously set forth in environmental and cultural compliance. Our crew strives to conduct quality fuels treatment work that benefits not only the fire world, but also the ecosystem while keeping public and firefighter safety as our number one priority.”

National Park Service, Alaska Eastern Area Fire Management forestry technician, Roger Rollin, takes a final look upward as he makes a final cut to fell a hazard tree.

NPS/D. Coble

Forestry technicians, Mike Glinski, Mike Sweeney, and Roger Rollin worked under Wong’s guidance and her 11 years of fire experience. Glinski and Rollin operated the chainsaws, thinning the trees that Wong had previously flagged. On the remaining trees, the crew cut limbs up to 6 feet to prevent any potential ladder fuels should a fire occur. Sweeney worked hard, hauling out the downed vegetation and transferring loads to a gravel pit at the park while Wong went ahead of the crew to continue flagging the hazard and conifer trees for optimal crown spacing and to complete the pre-treatment data collection.

The crew was quiet and meticulous in their work, vigilant in looking out for potential hazards. “The snags are pretty thick in here,” said Glinski. “Every time we round a corner there’s more.”

National Park Service, Alaska Eastern Area Fire Management forestry technician, Mike Sweeney, makes trips in and out of the tree line hauling out downed hazard trees.

NPS/D. Coble

Despite the logistical challenges and the intense workload, the crew enjoys what they do and where they do it. Working for the National Park Service Alaska Fire Management offers opportunities not found elsewhere. Fuels management projects like this one, monitoring and mapping fires from helicopters, learning Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping skills and software applications, engine experience, fire science, fire communication and education contributions, and interagency fire cooperation are all valuable skills each crewmember will gain by the end of the season.

As the crew headed back into the tree line after lunch, news of a lightning-caused fire in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve brought a slight upturn to the corners of their mouths…fire season in Alaska was well underway.