Wildland Fire Facts

NPS team members work together on wildland fire management activities within Alaska parklands.

NPS photo

Leadership

Chuck Russell, Regional Wildland Fire Management Officer
Jason Devcich, Eastern Area Fire Management Officer
Larry Weddle, Western Area Fire Management Officer

Administration
NPS fire professionals keep Alaskans and visitors safe and land-scapes healthy by balancing the risks and benefits of fire while committing to safety, science and stewardship. Efficient and nimble, Alaska wildland fire management is a leader in the use of technol-ogy, science, communication and collaborating with partners and peers.

NPS, Alaska Region, manages 15 parks, preserves, monuments and national historical parks and nearly 54 million acres of land. Between 1950 and 2017, 1,156 fires have burned within Alaska national park land boundaries, that’s an average of 44,118 acres per year. Of that total, 83 percent were lightning-caused.

Fire response in Alaska is unlike most units elsewhere in the Service. NPS Alaska, manages large and long duration natural fires and the agency does not do it alone. NPS Alaska in coordination with Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service, U.S. Forest Ser-vice and State of Alaska Division of Forestry respond to fires as an effective team. NPS resources are available and shared with federal, state, native organizations, tribal and non-governmental partners when requested.

Resources
The entire program totals 24 staff (some positions are vacant), divid-ed amongst the regional office and area programs. Positions include leadership, specialists, forestry technicians, helicopter managers, assistants and support personnel.
Eastern Area Fire Management, based in Fairbanks, oversees fire management responsibilities in:

• Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve
• Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve

Western Area Fire Management, based in Denali National Park and Preserve, oversees fire management responsibilities in:

• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
• Cape Krusenstern National Monument
• Denali National Park and Preserve
• Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Noatak National Preserve

The regional office, based in Anchorage, oversees fire management in other Alaska national parklands not listed above. Although, duties are delineated between region and area programs, the entire program works as a team. The region supports the area programs by provid-ing expertise in GIS, communications, fire ecology and budget.

Equipment
The NPS maintains an inventory of equipment, strategically located throughout Alaska, to assist in management activities.

• 2 Contracted Type 3 Helicopters
• 1 Type 6 Engine
• 1 22 foot Altwood River Boat

NPS Wildland Fire Statistics (as of April 2018)

Preparedness	FY15 Completed	FY16 Completed	FY17 Completed
Preparedness Expenditures	$1,249,553	$1,039,405.89	$1,115,890.57
Wildfire - Unplanned Ignitions	39	24	10
Wildfire - Unplanned Ignitions Acres	114,202	23,479	4,008

^{Source: WFMI}

Fuels Treatment Completed

Fuels Treatement	FY15 Completed	FY16 Completed	FY17 Completed
Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fuels Treatment - Mechanical Acres*	67	104	20
Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fuels Treatment - Prescribed Fire Acres*	5	12	23
Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fuels Treatment - Total*	72	116	43
Non-Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fuels Treatment - Mechanical Acres*	0	0	0
Non-Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fuels Treatment - Prescribed Fire Acres*	0	0	0
Non-Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) Fuels Treatment - Total*	0	0	0
Fuels Program Total Expenditures	$601,130	$519,485.99	$467,619.46

^{*Source NFPORS}

Total Managed Acres in Alaska

Department/Bu-reau/Agency	DOI/Bureau of Indian Affairs	DOI/National Park Service	DOI/Fish and Wildlife Service	USDA/U.S. Forest Service	DOI/Bureau of Land Management
Total Managed Acres in Alaska	1,215,795	52,558,648*	74,104,077	22,020,866	70,227,439

^{*Source for NPS: NPS Land Resources Division (Dec. 2017)
Source for BIA, USFWS, USFS, BLM: BLM Alaska State Office; Alaska Wildland Fire Jurisdictions GIS Layer (April 2018)}