The Alaska Division of Forestry, Delta Area Office is in the process of evaluating our Fire Management Protection Levels. These levels allow the Division of Forestry to manage the initial attack of wildland fires in an effective and cost efficient manner.
There are four Protection Options:
Critical: This designation was specifically created to give the highest priority to suppression action on wildland fires that threaten human life, inhabited property, designated physical developments, and to structural resources designated as National Historic Landmarks. Fires that threaten a critical site have the priority over all other wildland fires. This option provides for immediate and aggressive suppression action where human safety or physical developments are at risk.
Full: This designation is established for the protection of cultural and historical sites, uninhabited private property, natural resources high-value areas, and other high –value areas that do not involve the protection of human life and inhabited property. A fire started in this category would receive aggressive initial attack. The difference from a critical area is that if there were two fires at the same time the one in critical protection would receive the highest priority.
Limited: This designation recognizes areas where the cost of suppression may exceed the value of the resource to be protected, the environmental impacts of fire suppression activities may have more negative impact on the resources than the effects of the fire, or the exclusion of fire may be detrimental to the fire dependent ecosystem. Fires in this area are generally not attacked. Instead they are analyzed and monitored. If it is determined that a fire in this category poses a threat to the adjacent resources, then suppression action may be taken. Each case is decided individually.
Modified: This designation is intended to be most flexible option available to land managers/owners. The intent of the Modified management option is to provide a higher level of protection when fire danger is high, probability of significant fire growth is high, and probability of containment is low. A lower level of protection is provided when fire danger decreases, potential for fire growth decreases, and the probability of containment increases. This option also provides increased flexibility in the selection of suppression strategies when risks are high. Unlike the Full management areas, the intent is not to minimize burned acres, but to balance acres burned with suppression costs and to accomplish land and resource management objectives. A fire start would receive aggressive initial attack for the first 24 hours. If it escapes control, the situation will be analyzed to determine if further action is cost effective. At a predetermined date, usually around July 10th, Modified lands are reclassified to Limited for the rest of the fire season.
These management options are implemented for the initial attack phase of a fire only. If the initial attack effort fails, the Wildland Fire Situation Analysis document outlines the suppression options and the direction for the suppression forces.
Cabin Protection Policy – State, Private and Municipal Lands
Cabins: Cabins, whether authorized or unauthorized, and other improvements including those resulting from past state land disposals shall be afforded the same level of fire protection as the surrounding land as identified in the most current fire management plan.
Cabins in limited suppression areas will not receive fire protection.
Inhabited Structures: If a structure is inhabited, we will take appropriate action to protect the people on the scene. Such actions may include evacuation, protecting the structure, or other responses, depending on the situation.
This Cabin Protection Policy is being revised based on public comment that was solicited during the public meeting process n the fall of 2005. We still are accepting public comment about cabin protection during this period.
A map (4.5 MB) of the current Delta Area Fire Protection Areas can be found by clicking here. If you have comments, questions, or would like to review the Fire Management Plan document in more detail please contact the Division of Forestry at 895-4225, write to PO Box 1149, Delta Junction, Alaska 99737 or email us at al_edgren@dnr.state.ak.us. The comment period will end at 4:30 p.m. on February 20, 2007.
