The state House committee crafting the budget for firefighting operations within the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, chaired by Rep. Gary Knopp (R-Kenai/Soldotna) unanimously adopted a proposal from Rep. Grier Hopkins (D-Fairbanks) earlier this week that allocates $5 million for the creation and maintenance of fire breaks and other fire risk reduction measures.
According to Rep. Hopkins: “Last year’s fire season was a record for Alaska. The hard work and dedication of local firefighters was essential to protecting our community from the Shovel Creek Fire in Goldstream Valley. Their success was assisted by the presence of fire break lines. By investing in these risk reduction measures, we give our fire professionals strategic advantages that can make the difference between containing a wildfire and risking whole neighborhoods and communities.”
In a release, he claims that this budget proposal provides funding to create and maintain fire breaks over the next two years while also directing the State of Alaska to develop a plan to allocate federal and insurance dollars paid to the state each year to reimburse firefighting costs. The intention for those funds is creating stable funding for future risk reduction efforts, putting rural fire crews and contractors to work developing and implementing protection plans for neighborhoods and communities.
The budget proposal now heads to the full House Finance Committee for consideration.