Spruce bark beetle mitigation and hazard fuel reduction is the reason a slash disposal site was established in the city of Kenai just north of town, but due to the rain that southcentral Alaska has experienced for the past several weeks, as well as lack of staffers, the City of Kenai elected to close down the city’s spruce bark beetle slash dump site. The closure will be on Sunday, September 11.
Brad Walker, Kenai’s Parks and Recreation Director tells KSRM:
“Staffing issues are the main reason. It was scheduled to close October 2. It’s just going to close a couple of weeks earlier than planned. The usage of the site has gone down quite a bit since June and July.”
An ordinance was enacted earlier this summer which would appropriate funding from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry to support spruce bark beetle mitigation and hazard fuel reduction. The city participated in a Borough-wide Community Wildfire Protection Plan, adopted by resolution in May. One component of the plan includes the establishment of a slash disposal site. The city was notified of approval for reimbursement of up to $150,000 for three years from the Division of Forestry to complete the project.
Walker adds:
“It’s certainly slowed down. Once again, it feels like it’s rained for 30 days out of the last 45. I will say that the last day is September 11, which I believe is a Sunday and it closes at 6:00 p.m.”
The city opened its slash disposal site on Thursday, June 2, with a weekly operating schedule of Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The slash dump site is located at mile 13 of the Kenai Spur Highway, just past the Kenai Soccer Fields on the way towards Nikiski and it is open to both Kenai residents and nonresidents.
