Mid-Hillside Community Council Wildfire

There is an real danger of a wildfire in the Hillside area. There are several reasons this danger is so high, including the abundance of dead spruce from the spruce bark beetle epidemic.

Here are a number of links to relevant sites. Folowing the links are notes from counicl meetings and notices we ahve received.

Water Resources Map This interactive application allows users to view Water Resource information compiled by The Anchorage Fire Department

Wildfire Introduction The Municipality of Anchorage is at risk of wildfire due to the increased fuel loads associated with the spruce bark beetle infestation, and the prevalence of homes established in the Wildland-Urban Interface

Anchorage Wildfire (Dare to Prepare) A comprehensive and multi-agency wildfire protection plan designed to reduce the risk of fire along the wildland urban interface in the Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska.

Burn Permits Burn permits are issued through the Anchorage Fire Prevention office at 267-4939. Burn permits will be issued .

Firewise- Alaska (BLM) The Alaska Fire Service provides wildland fire management on an interagency basis for land managed or owned by U.S. Interior Department Agencies, Alaska Native Corporations and the Military in Alaska

Firewise- National The Firewise Home Page was created for people who live or vacation in fire prone areas of North America. The information contained here will ....

Alaska Fire and Safety Network Since the Miller's Reach Fire most Alaskan's are very aware that wildfire can pose a serious threat to their homes. A major portion of this site is dedicated to .......

Last year’s projects around Hill’s Park and Forsythe Park were very productive in terms of getting rid of forest fuels contributing to wildfire and also to gain participation from surrounding neighbors. We have more projects planned for the neighborhoods in that area this summer.

It’s still most important that homeowners are preparing their home ignition zones before the wildfire happens. I would still like to work with members of your council to partner on fuel mitigation projects and informational sessions. I’m available to meet with the council, homeowner associations, or groups of concerned residents. Please remind your council membership of a few items:

1. AFD Foresters are available to do free home assessments.
2. The cost share tree removal program provides 70% reimbursement for tree work prescribed by AFD Foresters.
3. We will help neighborhoods coordinate projects to work on forested areas outside of the home ignition zone (100 feet surrounding a structure).
4. Firewise Communities are a great way to bring neighbors together to increase preparedness for wildfire.
5. Wood lots will be opening in May. Please save your Val-Pak coupons, otherwise homeowners will be charged $5 per visit. Churches and non-profit land owners should contact our office.

You and your council membership are welcome to call me at 267-4902 or on my cell 317-7236. I’m also happy to attend council meetings or homeowner association meetings to plan projects and discuss wildfire preparedness.

PRESS RELEASE
15 April 2004
Contact: Sue Rodman @ 267-4902 or
Michelle Weston @ 267-5055

Ready to clear brush around your home? With snow still on the ground and spring looming around the corner, Anchorage area residents should be getting ready for fishing and spring cleaning. As soon as the snow melts, wildfire season will be upon us. Remember to clear brush around your home and decking.

Because the Municipal wood lots will not be opening until mid May, and the Fire Department has not yet instituted the summer burn ban, residents might consider burning their slash. If you have residual slash from spruce trees around your home, you can obtain a burn permit from your local fire station. Guidelines for burning are printed on the permit and are also available on the web at www.muni.org/fire1. Before burning, you must call the Burn Hotline to determine whether it is an approved burn day: 267-5020. Regular open burning is not permitted within the Municipality of Anchorage except for special designations; permits will only be issued for spruce bark beetle killed tree slash.

Please save your wood lot coupons from last week’s Val-Pak. Each residence was given four coupons for use this summer at either Anchorage or Eagle River. Without the coupon, residential loads will be charged $5. Operating days and hours have changed for both sites! Churches and contractors should call 267-4956 to obtain punch cards.

Wildfire Mitigation operations to continue May 10^th. As a continuing effort to reduce the hazard of wildfire in the Municipality, the Anchorage Fire Department is continuing tree cutting operations in May. The Division of Forestry Pioneer Peak Crew will be cutting dead trees around Hillside and Eagle River where neighborhoods have planned projects with AFD. Call 267-4902 to plan a project in your neighborhood. Crew work applies to areas outside of the “home ignition zone” (first 100 feet of influence surrounding a structure).

Homeowners to get financial assistance with tree removal. Residents can receive 70% reimbursement on tree work prescribed by AFD Foresters for wildfire mitigation. Call 267-4956 or visit our website for an application www.muni.org. This program operates through local professional arborists.

The following is excerpts from meeting minutes. Some sections not relevant to the Hillside area were deleted.

.Anchorage Fire Department Wildfire Mitigation Office
February 6, 2002 -
Minutes Fire Science Team 2002
Fuel Treatment Planning Session 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
AFD Beetle Gallery (aka old EOC)
Attendance: Chris Olson, Michelle Schuman, Randy Souhrada, John See, Karen Laing, Lan Hecimovich, Sue Rodman, John Weddleton

Discussion points:
Karen Laing - I will give copies of the working maps to Karen to review the sites where the Mat Su Crew is planned to do mitigation work. She will review the sites with her colleagues to make determinations on scheduling based upon bird nesting times and other wildlife considerations. The results will help schedule crew work for the 2002 season.

Malcolm Ford - While we are working to reduce the risk of fire, we should consider providing additional information to the homeowners. For example, when restoring the site with trees, make sure they are planted in the right place with respect to defensible space and power lines. Specific species of trees could be considered for bird habitat. Pervious surface retention in homeowner’s landscaping plans should be discussed. To put this all together, Malcolm suggested that he, Karen Laing, Michelle Schuman and Bill Sobers work together to get this information packaged for the Fire Education Corps team training session in June. Maybe a handout could be incorporated into their home assessments so that homeowners have a reference for this information.

Sue Rodman - From a suggestion made by Michelle Weston York, the name Firewise Alliance sounds confusing. Maybe, while we’re still ahead of the game, change the name to the national standard: Firewise Communities. Also, some of the neighborhoods that we have prioritized may only need home assessments and continued education as opposed to a heavy emphasis on fuel reduction.

From the preliminary community list below, we could continue with the vegetation management for parts of those communities that are adjacent to large tracts of land with heavy fuel loading. Then, provide just the educational component to the remainder of the subdivision. We could make these determinations based on the home assessments, once they are completed.

1. Mat Su Crew: On contract for 6 months or time equivalent to $312,000 (use a 48 hour work week as a base for 20 weeks of work)

b. Spencer Loop - 85% completed, need 1 week (May 1-10) No new cutting. Stack & burn slash along 2000 ft of trail.

c. Coyote Trail project with BLM - Extends from Abbot Loop Trailhead to the junction with the Homestead Trail and continues SE several hundred feet to tie into BLM fuel break on Campbell Tract - May 15 to June 2 Cut & burn/chip slash with Mat Su crew and BLM crew, additional contractor to chip material and haul away. The extent of this work will be dependent on the construction of the Simonian Little League ball fields. Will spread gravel over the trail with help of crews and volunteers on June 2nd (National Trails Day) to be coordinated by Jeff Brune (Campbell Creek Science Center).

d. Little Rabbit Creek Bluff Park - 25% completed, need 3 to 4 weeks. Fall & limb dead & dying SBB trees, burn slash over 9 remaining of 12 acres

e. Rabbit Creek Canyon/Old Rabbit Creek Park - Do not cut trees in the park. Instead, create Firewise Alliances around the park (Our Own & DeArmoun area).

f. Jupiter Fuel break around Jupiter/Sahalee subdivision to adjoin ballfields and Abbott Road water tank. Do this at the same time of ball field construction to reduce duration of impact on the neighborhood.

g. Hillside Park in Rockridge area. Need 1 day to cut dead & dying SBB trees. Burn or haul away, depending on site evaluation.

Fuel break along Abbott/Multi-use trail from Service HS to Abbott parking lot - Table for 2002.

Extend BLM fuel break up homestead trail to Service HS - NO. Not a valid use of time and resources due to orientation of fuel break and the continuity of black spruce.

THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION OFFICE is lighting up a new program called the Firewise Alliance. Neighborhood groups that become an "alliance" will get help becoming "firewise." It's all voluntary, but after you see some pictures of houses that survived wildfires and those that didn't, there's a sense of coercion by mother nature!

Two crews will travel through "Firewise" neighborhoods to evaluate homes and give tips on how to make them less likely to burn when wildfire comes ripping up the hill. They may even spend money directly to the property for hazard tree removal. The alliance is a good match for LRSA, road or Crime Watch groups. If you want your group to be part of a Firewise Alliance, contact Sue Rodman, Forester, Anchorage Fire Department 267-4902 or email RodmanSU@ci.anchorage.ak.us .

Anchorage Wildfire Steering Committee Meeting January 22, 2002
by Janice Shamberg

Below are notes I took during a 1-½ hour meeting at the EOC building at 1309 E Street.

The Operations Team reported that one of the biggest concerns is where to send evacuees during an emergency evacuation. The Operations Committee is in the process of identifying Safe Zones. The ultimate decision comes from the EOC commander. This committee is dividing its duties into three parts: warnings, directives and orders. It must be established how to protect and put into place procedures for dealing with the handicapped or aged.

The date for the next exercise is tentatively scheduled for May 4, 2002 at Stuckagain Heights. At that time there will be a DOT helicopter and the Fire Dept. C Shift will be on and in charge. They are rotating shifts as the A Shift went through this exercise for two years in a row. A Star helicopter will be used in this summer’s operation. We are now funding a new pad at Campbell Track, Station 10, where the helicopter will be. Manager Kieling wants to practice the evacuation and wants reverse 911-which will provide the ability to call people who have contacted 911.

The Fire Science Team is forming an assessment team for high-risk homes and areas. A wildfire history map is being developed so that people can see where fires have occurred in the more remote past, even though they might not be aware of any in the recent past. There will be two crews with six students each provided by the Fire Education Corps. (They participated in fire prevention in Idaho last year and will arrive here in May.) These students will visit homes and tell the owners how to make their homes “firewise”.

The Education Team would like to see an Alaskan vegetation video made so residents know what to plant that won’t burn dangerously. People must be made aware that the longer we go without fires, the more fire prone an area becomes as underbrush/fuel increases. Fewer fires don’t mean that we are no longer fire-prone. We have just been on top of things and caught the fires while small. The Education Team is also proposing new standards for new construction of homes to withstand fire. It realizes that there may be some resistance to this.

Wood Removal Service Report: Wood lots and residential chipping will be run by just one entity this year. As a result, there should be less waiting, with a goal of a 21-day wait maximum. This would start May 1, 2002. The Eagle River wood lot site will remain the same. The South Anchorage wood lot location site will be announced later. The program giving free firewood/chips may not occur this year because of security concerns-there was a lot of trash dumping at the site in 2001.

New fire station sites have been selected for Station 14 (Campbell/Baxter) and Station 15 (Southport). Station 14 will be constructed first. For further information or clarification of the above, please contact Sue Rodman, Forester, at 267-4902, rodmansu@ci.anchorage.ak.us, or Michelle Weston York, Forester, at 267-5055, westonmr@ci.anchorage.ak.us .

Fire Danger on the Hillside
Sue Rodman Special Administrative Assistant - Anchorage Fire Department

Ms. Rodman rang the fire bell. The Hillside area has a high possibility of burning and burning fast. When the conflagration starts, we'll have only a few hours to get out of the area or hope that we'll be able to survive in our homes. The streets will be clogged with cars going every direction. There will be thick smoke and confusion. Fire trucks will have a hard time getting to the fire. Not every house can be saved. Things can get bad, but experience has shown that properly constructed homes with defensible space can survive even huge fires.

Each individual has the responsibility to make their home safe by creating a "defensible space" around the home. In general this means maintaining an area at least 30 around the home free from food for the fire. Check for leaves in the gutters on your roof, check for dry leaves and wood under your steps and porches. Clear out tall grass and dead trees and branches. There's really quit a bit to this. You can get the pamphlet "Firewise" from any firestation or by contacting Sue Rodman at wildfire@ci.anchorage.ak.us .

The Anchorage Fire Department will have a large fire simulation exercise on May 5. On May 12 at 10am, there will be a defensible space demo at the Forsythe home on the southeast corner of O'Malley and Birch.

There is money in the budget for one chipping crew to help hillside residents get rid of the dead trees and branches. A crew will be clearing brush and dead trees from locations most at risk of starting a fire: places where people congregate. Burning on the hillside is currently banned and it is unlikely that burning will be allowed this summer.