Experts from various wildfire-related agencies in Alaska gathered at Hilltop Ski Area for an inter-agency wildfire open house, discussing the current wildfire situation and providing tips on prevention and escape.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Experts with various wildfire-related agencies in Alaska gathered at Hilltop Ski Area Saturday for an inter-agency wildfire open house.
“Despite the rain, we’ve been running and gunning,” Kevin Lankford, the Matanuska-Susitna area lead fire prevention officer for the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection, said.shows there have been about 30 fires statewide this year, with about 20 acres burned. More than 10 of those fires were confirmed this week.
Jon Glover, the Anchorage Fire Department Wildfire Division Chief, concurred that this summer will likely be a typical one on the fire front, which in Anchorage usually constitutes between 180 to 200 wildfire responses throughout the season, the vast majority of which are small.
“Every single day, we sit behind our computers and look at weather models,” Aviva Braun, a National Weather Service meteorologist for the Anchorage Forecast Office, explained. “Is it an El Niño or La Niña year? Where are some of the other climatological oscillations kind of pointing towards? And that’s what gives us the information that tells us more of the long-term.
”said that will not necessarily contribute to more fires.
“El Niño in the past can correlate with larger wildfires,” she said. “However, it’s not a strong correlation, so that’s why we are just thinking typical. ” Braun added interior Alaska tends to see more fires than Southcentral, due to more frequent thunderstorms and warmer summer temperatures. The main purpose of the wildfire open house was to educate the public on what to do to prevent and escape fires.
Andrew Preis, the Emergency Program Manager for the Anchorage Office of Emergency Management, recommended three essentials: an emergency “go-kit” of essential supplies to be taken if you need to evacuate your home, an emergency communication plan to alert and rendezvous with loved ones, and the knowledge of which news channels and radio stations to tune into for emergency alerts.
“Communication is one of the biggest things for us in a wildfire scenario,” Preis said. “We need to make sure to be getting the most up-to-date information out to the people as soon as possible to they can make good decisions for themselves and their families. ” Preis recommended Anchorage residents text their ZIP code to 67283, which will sign them up for Rave Mobile Safety alerts in emergency scenarios.
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Wildfire Alaska Matanuska-Susitna Area Alaska Division Of Forestry And Fire Protectio Anchorage Fire Department National Weather Service El Niño La Niña Interior Alaska Southcentral
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