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The national database of state and local wildfire hazard mitigation programs
serves as a clearinghouse of information about nonfederal policies and
programs that seek to reduce the risk of loss of life and property through
the reduction of hazardous fuels on private lands. If
you would like to submit a program to the national wildfire programs database,
please complete the following form (MS
Word).
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Title: |
Tanacross, AK -- Fuelbreak Mitigation Project
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Type: |
Homeowner assistance
Fuelbreaks
Demonstration projects
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Jurisdiction: |
City/town
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State: |
Alaska
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Program Description: |
The Native Village of Tanacross in southeastern Alaska sits on the bank of the Tanana River and is surrounded by boreal forest containing primarily Black Spruce, White Spruce, Aspen, Birch and Willows. The village needed a fuel break to protect it from the highly flammable forest which surrounds it. The mitigation project is a cooperative effort of BLM Alaska Fire Service, the Village of Tanacross, the Tanana Chiefs Conference, Alaska Division of Forestry, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Tanacross Project created defensible space, giving firefighters room to work to protect the village in case of fire. It consisted of thinning spruce stands on about 52 acres of forested land. Funding was provided through the National Fire Plan: Communities at Risk Program. A website documents the work on the project, and includes many pictures.
A 16-member crew was hired by the village and trained by Alaska Forest Service personnel in the safe use of chainsaws, and tree felling techniques. The crew worked through the summer of 2001, thinning black and white spruce stands to a minimum spacing of ten feet. The lower branches of the remaining spruce trees were pruned to eliminate ladder fuels. Live hardwoods were left uncut. Salvageable lumber was used by residents for firewood, and slash and treetops were piled to be burned over the winter. Several hundred piles of slash were burned when conditions permitted.
Contact Information
For more information on this and other mitigation projects in Alaska, contact Andy Williams, of BLM Alaska Fire Service at 907-356-5511 or by email at [email protected].
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