The Alaska Division of Forestry and Central Emergency Services responded to a small grass fire on Funny River Road on Thursday, May 11th at 12:20 p.m.
Kenai/Kodiak Area Fire Management Officer Howie Kent provided details;
“So, around I think it was around quarter after noon, today we responded to wildland fire out there. About 1/4 acre in size, a grass fire that began to torch some trees in the neighborhood there, I believe on Johnson Street and was an escaped debris fire that that occurred. We launched our Helitack and an engine and prevention and then we tied in with Central Emergency Services who were on scene we arrived to suppress the fire.”
According to Kent, the fire was located on an empty lot;
“Yeah, it was, basically a vacant lot. Although the fire did burn onto adjacent lots that had structures on them, but did not impact any of those structures. So, able to catch the fire before it did any significant damage. Which is good. The fire is currently, contained and controlled and in mop up status, basically.”
Kent explained that the fire was escaped debris burn;
“It was an escaped debris burn. So, somebody who was burning a pile of organic material, which is the only permitted burn that we can allow. So, that’s basically you know leaves and branches and lawn lawn material there that they get raked up and then they they start a fire. So, it was a pile similar to that that got started and escaped into the grass and then into the trees.”
With an extremely dry spring on the Kenai Peninsula, Kent stresses the needed for burn permits;
“Well, you know, our spring actually kind of lingered on here, winter kind of held on a little longer than normal. So, I think the important thing is for people not to get complacent as the snow recedes, our grass fuel model is exposed more and more every day. So, that’s very receptive to fire embers coming out of winter. Because those grasses have been freeze dried and so they’ve all the moisture has come out of those fuels and so it always catches people by surprise when when the grass catches fire. So, the biggest, take home message is to get a burn permit if you are going to burn a debris pile. Has to be less than 10 feet in diameter. If it’s bigger than that, we can issue a large scale permit. But, they need to have adequate clearance. They need to stay on scene while the whole time that the fire is burning and hot, and then they need to have water and hand tools and staying in attendance of that fire the whole time.”
To more information or to obtain a burn permit, click here.