ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Anchorage Fire Department and the Municipality is taking a look at what the future of its wildland fire division, and what the future of wildfire prevention and suppression, will look like.
A resolution of the Anchorage Assembly passed on April 14, instructing the Municipality to evaluate the creation of one or more “Wildfire Interface Service Areas,” along with funding mechanisms for AFD for wildfire prevention and response. The current wildland fire division is funded by a four-year federal grant that expires at the end of 2027.
“So what happens when the end of 2027 comes?” Anchorage Fire Chief Doug Schrage asked rhetorically. “If we haven’t found replacement revenue, then the wildfire program, as we have come to experience it, will go away.”…