BLU LIBRARY 88054551 lent of the Interior ,d Management BLM-Aiaska Open File Report 87 BLM/AK/ST-03/002+281 0+31 0 September 2003 Alaska State Office 222 West 7th Avenue, #13 Anchorage, Alaska 99513 JK 870 .L3 06 no. 87 C.2 Wildfires in Alaska in the 1980s Compiled from Annual Fire Reports of the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center Andy Williams The BLM Mission The Bureau of Land Management sustains the health, diversity and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Editor . } Andy Williams is a public affairs specialist with the Alaska Fire Service. Open File Reports ''^ >, Open File Reports issued by the Bureau of Land Management-Alaska present the results of inventories or other investigations on a variety of scientific and technical subjects that are made available to the public outside the formal BLM-Alaska technical publication series. These reports can include preliminary or incomplete data and are not published and distributed in quantity. The reports are available while supplies last from BLM External Affairs, 222 West 7th Avenue #13, Anchorage, Alaska 99513 and from the Juneau Minerals Information Center, 100 Savikko Road, Mayflower Island, Douglas, AK 99824, (907) 364-1553. Copies are also available for inspection at the Alaska Resource Library and Information Service (Anchorage), the USDI Resources Library in Washing- ton, D. C, various libraries of the University of Alaska, the BLM National Business Center Library (Denver) and other selected locations. A complete bibliography of all BLM-Alaska scientific reports can be found on the Internet at: http://www.ak.blm.gov/affairs/sci_rpts.html. Related publications are also listed at http://juneau.ak.blm.gov. t <0 (^' .Li> Wildfires in Alasl^a in the 1980s Andy Williams o BLM-Alaska Open File Report 87 September 2003 U. S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management TABLE OF CONTENTS 1980 Season Highlights 1 1981 Season Highlights 5 1982 Season Highlights 9 1983 Season Highlights 14 1984 Season Highlights 17 1985 Season Highlights 21 1986 Season Highlights 26 1987 Season Highlights 30 1988 Season Highlights.... 33 1989 Season Highlights 36 Summary for Calendar Years 1955-1989 39 1980 Season Highlights The winter of 1979-80 was another in a series of mild winters that began in 1976. The evidence of the dry winter and an equally dry spring started showing up in early May. The State of Alaska battled a fire in the Delta Barley Project that started May 1 1 . The Bureau of Land Management supported the State's effort but took no direct role on the fire. The fire ended up at 7,155 acres. On May 5, smokejumpers attacked a persistent fire of unknown origin in a coal seam near Eagle. After two weeks of fi:nstrating work, with very little rain, the decision was made to secure the perimeter and let the coal seam bum. The dry spring produced the worst fire of the year when two fires on military lands south of Fairbanks combined and burned over 125,000 acres of military and state land. Although the fire burned firom May 17 to mid- July, BLM's involvement ended in June. From May 17 to June 14, BLM provided advisers to the military and some on-line personnel. On June 14, BLM was given control of the fire. With a large commitment of equipment and persoimel and the first substantial rains of the season, the BLM firefighters were able to contain the fire in five days. The fire was released back to the military, and the BLM provided an adviser for another 10 days. Another mihtary fu-e drew BLM forces in late May on the Yukon Training Site east of Eielson Air Force Base. The fire was in an active impact range and therefore an indirect attack was used. The fire was lined by bulldozers and left to bum out. The fire never threatened the dozer lines. The final size was 2,850 acres. Even though the fire season started out dry, the atmosphere that prevailed over Alaska was generally stable, and the first lightning fire did not occur until June 15. ft was only a spot fire. The only real lightning fire activity occurred from June 28 through June 30, when 19 hghtning fires occurred. The fires were mostly in the Bettles and Eagle units. The peak day of lightning fires was June 30 with 10 fires, a far cry firom 1979's peak day of 63 fires. The biggest fire in this three-day period was three acres. The rest of the fire season proved to be relatively quiet. Only a few fires had any potential, but either rain hit them or large commitments of initial attack resources caught them before they could take off. In summary, other than the early military fires, 1980 was a very inactive fire year in the Fairbanks District. Alaska firefighters were involved in an intemational first in 1980. A Class I overhead team made up of eight Alaskans, five from the Fairbanks District, was sent to Ontario, Canada, to assist Canadian firefighters battling forest fires near Thunder Bay, Ontario. It was the first time an overhead team fi-om the U.S. was used in Canada. Anchorage Fairbanks 75 132 128,074 128,206 84 1,459 111 1,686 21 180 1,591 128,301 129,892 1980 Statistics ~ Anchorage and Fairbanks Districts Cause Number of Fires Total Acres Total Anchorage Fairbanks Human 19 56 Lightning 1 8 66 False Alarms Total 37 122 Retardant Phoschek Tenogum/Fire/Trol Gallons 287,800 19,100 Assistance Dispatched to the Lower 48 Personnel; 30 Aircraft: 4 Assistance Received from the Lower 48 Personnel: 12 Aircraft Fixed Wing Aircraft Used (Contract) 25 Fixed Wind Aircraft Used (Continuing Offer) 68 Total Fixed Wing Times (Contract & Rental) 5,428.35 Total Cost Fixed Wing (Contract & Rental) $2,829,336 Total Helicopter Times (Contract & Rental) 1 ,359. 1 Total Helicopter Cost $1,142,720 EFF Payroll Gross wages: $507,631.71 No. hires: 436 1980 Facilities Upgrading of facilities continued at several field stations throughout the Fairbanks District in 1980. In the Chena Area, most of the work took place at Settles, Tanana and Fort Yukon. At Settles, the mess hall trailer was made fiiUy operational. Solid walls and permanent roofs were added to the tent frames. At Fort Yukon, a new heliport was built. The remodeling of the interior of the Dispatch Building was also completed. At Tanana, the mess hall and wash trailer became operational. A dining area was built onto the mess hall. The warehouse was moved out of St. James Mission and put into a leased FAA warehouse. In the Galena Area, a slow fire season allowed a great deal of facility work to be completed at Galena and Dahl Creek. At Galena, the last 40 feet of the new warehouse was completed. One of the upgraded tent frames was moved to the fenced security area behind the warehouse to be used as a hazardous materials storage area. A physical fitness trail was built next to the station. The biggest project of the year at Galena was the acquisition and rehabilitation of two surplused Air Force barracks. One has been fully rehabed and will be ready for the start of the 1981 fire season. The other should be ready sometime during the 1981 season. At Dahl Creek, siding work was completed on the buildings put up in the 1980 season. There were no major facilities projects in the Fortymile Area in 1980. 1980 Special Projects I. Fire Weather - Fuel Conditions Project The purpose of this project was to more accurately describe the characteristics of Alaskan fuel models in the National Fire Danger Rating System. The results of the study will help land managers better appraise the fire potential developing fi-om weather pattems that occur during the fire season. The project was conducted mainly out of Melozi Hot Springs northeast of Ruby. Other fuel samples were collected near McGrath. More data will be collected during the 1981 fire season to check and upgrade the 1980 data. The project is a cooperative effort between BLM and the U.S. Forest Service's Institute of Northern Forestry. II Automatic Lightning Detection System The ALDS system was improved and added to in 1980. A graphic display terminal showed on a map where lightning was occurring and a graphics printer gave fire managers a hard copy map for out-of-office use and for historical files. III Fire Weather Contract Due to budget constraints and duplication of efforts, the fire weather contract was dropped after the 1980 fire season. It was decided that because of improving ALDS capability and assistance from the National Weather Service, the contract service could be eliminated. Fairbanks District Fire Organization 1980 Cfiief, Division of Fire Management G. Timmons Fire Management Officer B. Hill Fire Training Officer D. Walil Galena Area FMO R. Farinetfi Dalil Creek Unit FMO B. Fox Koyul