Unexploded ordinances limit the response to wildfires in military training lands.
Published: Jul. 3, 2024 at 7:12 PM AKDTFAIRBANKS, Alaska - While working to suppress wildfires always comes with risk, the danger only increases on military training lands where falling trees and flames meet potential explosive outcomes.
Military training lands can contain unexploded ordinances such as mines and munitions. These explosives pose additional risks to firefighters and often result in limited responses. In 2019, a fire on military lands began in what is referred to as an impact area. These areas include bombing ranges and they can be quite large.
Even without boots on the ground, the explosives can still go off. Depending on the sensitivity of a given explosive, anything from the heat of the fire to the weight of dropped water can set one off. This limits fire crews to aerial suppression efforts. “We weren’t going to be able to necessarily put the fire out but we had at least three crews if not more,” Ipsen said referring to the fire in 2019. That’s also how the McDonald fire has been approached.
Tanana River Military Report Military Training Lands Macdonald Fire Clear Fire Beth Ipsen Unexploded Ordinances Wildfire 2019
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