BLM Issues Campfire Ban for Southcentral and Interior Alaska
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ANCHORAGE – The Bureau of Land Management today issued updated fire restrictions banning all open fires (campfires) on BLM-managed public lands in Southcentral and Interior Alaska. The new fire prevention order, issued in response to the current extreme fire danger, mirrors the joint campfire ban issued July 9 by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry and the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation.
All open fires, including those in established campgrounds, are now prohibited until further notice on BLM lands managed by the Eastern Interior Field Office and Central Yukon Field Office, as well as on lands BLM’s Glennallen Field Office manages in the Copper River, Delta River and Susitna River drainages. Campfires are never allowed on the BLM Campbell Tract within the Municipality of Anchorage. The ban includes cooking, warming, and signaling fires but does not apply to camp stoves, gas barbeques or grills, or charcoal briquette fires in fire-proof pans. Also prohibited is the use of fireworks, exploding targets and explosives. The fire restrictions will remain in place until fire conditions moderate.
“We’re in the midst of a busy fire season with thousands of firefighters deployed across the state,” said BLM Alaska State Director Chad Padgett. “Prohibiting campfires during this time of high fire danger reduces the chance that someone will accidentally add another wildfire to the many we’re already fighting. We all have a hand in a safe fire season.”
Wildland fire managers ask visitors and residents keep themselves and others safe by following the fire prohibitions and exercising extreme caution with any kind of activity that could spark a wildfire.
Information on statewide wildfires and BLM’s temporary fire restrictions may be found at akfireinfo.com and on the BLM fire restriction web page at www.blm.gov/afs/fire-restrictions.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.