The Division of Forestry (DOF) on Tuesday announced that they will be suspending all burn permits effective at midnight on April 30, in anticipation of the impacts of COVID-19 on Alaska’s wildland firefighting resources this summer.
The use of burn barrels, the burning of debris piles, and any other outdoor burning activity authorized under previously issued permits will be prohibited on all state, private and municipal lands throughout Alaska as of May 1. Any person or business found to be violating this burn permit suspension order may be issued a citation to pay a fine or appear in court.
This statewide burn permit suspension will not include cooking, warming or signaling fires that are less than three feet in diameter with flame lengths no more than two feet high. It also will not include commercially manufactured outdoor cooking and heating devices with built-in open flame safety devices.
In a release from the DOF, the suspension of burn permits will help firefighting agencies mitigate some of the significant challenges they’re likely to face this summer.
The release states, given the potential effects of COVID-19 on the upcoming fire season, Alaska’s wildland fire suppression agencies need the public’s help more than ever to keep firefighters and communities safe. Alaskans must do everything possible to prevent wildland fires, limit the spread of COVID-19, and protect firefighters and the public.