Mat-Su Times

If you'll be enjoying time at an Alaska National Park or on other public land this holiday weekend, be aware of current emergency burn closure orders! Emergency burn closure orders are issued to keep people safe and help prevent human-caused fires. Orders currently in effect are listed below; more could potentially be added as hot and dry weather persists in much of Alaska: 

Denali National Park and Preserve: Effectively immediately, the use of open wood fires is prohibited in the park… "open fires" refers to any flame source not immediately extinguishable or controllable and applies to any form of wood fire, even in established fire rings. Decisions to lift or continue the ban will be reassessed daily.

Kenai Fjords National Park: effective immediately and until further notice, open campfires are restricted to designated campgrounds or cabins within enclosed metal fire grates or designated fire rings provided at developed recreational facilities within Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Chugach National Forest, and Kenai Fjords National Park lands. More: https://www.nps.gov/.../kenai-peninsula-campfire...

The Alaska DNR- Division of Forestry (DOF)  issued an Emergency Burn Closure Order effective July 1, at 11:59 pm restricting all burning that requires a local or state burn permit, including uncontained cooking, warming, and signaling fires. Cooking or warming fires contained inside a steel ring or other non-flammable device, such as a charcoal grill, are allowed. The order covers all state, private, and municipal lands within: the Kenai Peninsula Borough, the Matanuska Susitna Borough, the Denali Borough, the Fairbanks North Star Borough, the cities of Delta Junction and Tok and their surrounding areas and the Copper River basin and surrounding areas. 

For statewide wildfire information, visit www.akfireinfo.com.

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