Senator Lisa Murkowski inserted language into a defense appropriations bill on Thursday to force the U.S. Army to explain its decision to proceed with artillery training that even the Army, at one time, acknowledged sparked a massive wildfire near Fairbanks.
The fire is still smoldering in some areas, but does not threaten the road or any structures. BLM said it is now 71% contained. Everyone agrees the Stuart Creek 2 wildfire near Chena Hot Spring Road, east of Fairbanks -- started on June 19, shortly after a Fort Wainwright artillery unit fired rounds into the woods and brush. The Army, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, and residents near the flames agree it flared up during strong winds in early July, forcing the evacuation of hundreds, and sending fire crews scrambling to keep it at bay. But the cause of the fire is now being debated -- at least among Army officials.
"The official cause of the fire has yet to be determined, and we are working with BLM and the Fire Service to figure that out," said Alaska Army spokesperson John Pennell.
On July 3, after the fire began growing rapidly, the commander of Fort Wainwright, Col. Ron Johnson, told a crowd of residents that live near the fire zone that the artillery training did, in fact, start the blaze.
"It was artillery training, it did start a fire," Johnson said.
As of Aug. 1, the blaze was officially "human caused," according to the BLM website.
Despite the Army's recent retreat from acknowledging culpability for the fire, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, wants to know how the decision to train that June day in was made.
Murkowski has inserted a paragraph into the FY2014 Defense Appropriations committee report requiring the Army to explain its decision to train during extreme weather conditions. When the blaze began on June 19, a red flag warning -- conditions ripe for extreme fire danger -- was in effect. Both BLM and the Fort Wainwright Fire Department told the Army not to train that day, because of the fire danger, but the Army went ahead with it anyway.
The Army has until April 15 of next year to come up with an answer.
The Stuart Creek 2 wildfire has burned more than 85,000 acres and cost millions of dollars to fight. It sent thick clouds of acrid smoke billowing throughout Pleasant Valley and Two Rivers, small communities along the road, about 35 miles east of Fairbanks. Approaching flames forced hundreds of people and their animals to flee to Fairbanks for three days before the danger subsided.
The total cost to the residents, the Fire Service and the Army itself is likely far more than the $19 million or so already spent fighting the fire.
So why would the Army go ahead with artillery training in the Yukon Training Area, a sprawling military range south of the Chena River where the Stuart Creek 2 fire began?
Initially Army spokespeople said the decision to go ahead was made with an abundance of caution, taking mitigation efforts, and monitoring the weather as well as the type of artillery rounds to be used.
A month later, the Army said it is still reviewing its policies on training during times of high fire danger. It also has said it will pay for people's evacuation costs and lost business if it is determined conclusively that the Army started the fire.
Contact Sean Doogan at sean(at)alaskadispatch.com