ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Anchorage officials signed the Community Wildfire Protection Plan on Tuesday, formalizing the city’s long-term wildfire resilience strategy after more than a year of technical analysis and community engagement.
The signing ceremony was held at the Anchorage Fire Department Training Center on Airport Heights Road, and the plan establishes the framework for wildfire prevention, hazardous fuels reduction, evacuation planning and emergency response coordination.
“The Community Wildfire Protection Plan is basically the document and the framework for how we’re going to deal with response, pre-incident planning, mitigation, and all efforts related to wildfire management for the Anchorage Municipality,” said Jon Glover, Wildfire Division Chief for the Anchorage Fire Department.
Plan identifies dedicated wildfire division as top priority
The CWPP’s primary recommendation calls for establishing and permanently funding a dedicated wildfire division within the Anchorage Fire Department. The plan states this is “the single most impactful and preventable action the municipality can take to safeguard its residents from a catastrophic wildfire.”…