Wet, cooler weather this week means relaxed burn restrictions in parts of Alaska, including the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, according to the Alaska Division of Forestry and local fire officials.
The Anchorage Fire Department lifted the municipalitywide burn closure at 9 a.m. Wednesday, allowing open fires for the first time since mid-June. People can now use permanent barbecue grills and fire pits at Anchorage parks as well as have campfires on their property, as long as the flames are 25 feet from any buildings, power poles, cars, trees, brush or dead grass, said John See, AFD spokesman.
Starting at noon Wednesday, AFD allowed the burning of residential spruce bark beetle kill with a permit, according to the municipality's website. People can also continue to use barbecue grills, fish smokers and portable fireplaces.
See said cloudy and rainy weather paired with increased humidity forecasted into the weekend prompted him to lift the burn closure, though he cautioned the restrictions could return with sunny, dry weather.
"We'll put them in place abruptly if we need to," he said.
The Mat-Su Area State Forestry Office announced Wednesday it had lifted the suspension of burn permits, which cover open fires, debris burns and burn barrels. Last week, it relaxed campfire bans in certain state parks, allowing campfires in metal grate fire pits in state recreation sites at Rocky Lake, Nancy Lake, Willow Creek and Big Lake, as well as Denali State Park, not including the park's gravel bars.
At 6 p.m. Wednesday, the forestry division announced it had canceled a burn closure on state, municipal and private lands in Southwest Alaska and the Municipality of Anchorage. "Open burning is now being regulated on a day-to-day, area-by-area basis," said the statement from Tim Mowry, a spokesman for the forestry division.
Mowry also said in the statement the division has amended its policy on burn barrels. For the rest of the season, people cannot use burn barrels or other approved burning devices during a burn suspension.
"It is unfortunate that burn barrels and approved burning devices will be further restricted, but given the dry conditions and the gravity of the current wildfire situation around Alaska, fire managers felt it was necessary to prevent additional fires," he said. "With more than 300 fires currently burning in the state, firefighters have their hands full and do not need any new, human-caused fires to add to their workload."
On the Kenai Peninsula, campfires and charcoal barbecues are allowed, but debris burning and the use of burn barrels is not. In Delta Junction, open burning is allowed with a valid burn permit. There are no restrictions on permitted burning in the Copper River Basin, Mowry said, while in Fairbanks and Tok, burning remains suspended