CHAPTER 8 



FIRE CONTROL 



Timber losses have approximately balanced 

 timber growth in unexploited Interior Alaska. 

 Future demand to harvest part of the crop each 

 year will require an increase in net growth to re- 

 place this removal. Besides, the national econ- 

 omy will demand a continuing increase in the 

 future allowable cut. 



How much should be spent to protect this 

 important resource? Where is the breaking point 

 between the ratio of loss and damage versus the 

 cost of protection? No economic study has been 

 made to ascertain just how much Alaska is 

 worth in terms of what should be spent to pro- 

 tect it. Helmers (1960, p. 470) states, "Fires are 

 so much a part of the summer scene that there 

 is also the psychological problem of getting pub- 

 lic recognition of the economical losses due to 

 fire." A close review of the history of our re- 

 source protection effort and a good look at 

 long-range needs show the necessity to materi- 

 ally reduce forest fire damage in Alaska. 



Until July 1939, organized forest fire con- 

 trol in Alaska was nonexistent. Then the terri- 

 tory received $37,500 to establish the Alaska 

 Fire Control Service. Early efforts were confined 

 to suppression of man-caused fires within sur- 

 face striking distance of Anchorage and Fair- 

 banks. 



Throughout development of an effective 

 firefighting force, several major problems have 

 persisted. The vast area and the contrastingly 

 small, concentrated population have made early 

 detection difficult; the lack of access to remote 

 forest and range lands compounds the logistics 

 of reaching fires and supplying crews. As tourist 

 numbers increase, so does incidence of man- 

 caused fires. An increasing awareness of the 

 values at stake and of the need for better pro- 

 tection has mandated the fire control organiza- 

 tion to use every means available to reduce the 

 losses (Robinson 1960). 



Since inception of the Alaska Fire Control 

 Service, great strides have been made toward 

 control of the major portion of forest fires in 

 Alaska. Begun under the old General Land Of- 

 fice, the fire control organization is now oper- 

 ated as an integral part of the Bureau of Land 



Management, which has responsibilities for pro- 

 tection and management for more than 95 per- 

 cent of the State's area. Protection of much of 

 this land will remain the responsibility of the 

 Bureau of Land Management for years to come 

 even though the State will, within 25 years, as- 

 sume title to more than 100 million acres. 



In 1955 the Bureau of Land Management 

 developed a comprehensive forestry program for 

 Interior Alaska. The four major management 

 objectives are: (1) multiple use management of 

 the entire forest resource complex rather than 

 timber management alone, (2) water resource 

 protection and development, (3) increased utili- 

 zation and development of the present timber 

 resource, and (4) protection of the public's vested 

 interest in the forest and range resources in 

 Alaska from destruction or damage from fire, 

 insects, and disease. None of the first three 

 management objectives can be met with confi- 

 dence until the fire protection organization can 

 assure, within reasonable limits, a continuing 

 forest cover. Robinson (1960) proposed a goal 

 of not more than 100,000 acres of burned area 

 per year. Basic barriers to early detection, at- 

 tack, and control of fires must be identified and 

 overcome. 



FSRE CONTROL ORGANIZATION 

 PRESUPPRESSION 



Regardless of the severity of any one fire 

 season, a well-developed fire control organiza- 

 tion containing basic personnel and equipment 

 must be ready to handle an average bad season. 

 Perhaps the job confronting fire control personnel 

 for Interior Alaska can best be described by 

 comparing it with another fire control group, 

 Region 1 of the U.S. Forest Service: 



Interior Alaska 

 Region 1 Inferior Alaska compared to 



USPS 1 BLM Region 1 



Acres protected 32,000,000 



Acres burned 4,467 



Number of fires 1 ,069 



Number of fires per 33 



million acres 

 Fire personnel, man-years2 348 



Number people per 4.9 



square mile 



225,000,000 7 times 



1,119,130 250 times 



254 25 percent 



1.1 3 percent 



38 11 percent 



.4 8 percent 



'Montana, northern Idaho, northwest South Dakota, and 

 northeast Washington. 



^Regularly assigned positions including fire control aids. 



83 



