The Fires (Anchorage, Kenai, Palmer: work, house, appointed)

[ltdontcare]

Are the fires on the Kenai nearing any of you? Does anyone really prep for the fires every year?

Larry

[flu189]

Up until two years ago I lived in the mid-hillside area of Anchorage and let me tell you that way too many people don't take the fire danger seriously. Most just assume that the big fires will happen in the remote areas even though as we see now with the Kenai fire structures are being lost. The last really big fire was the Millers Reach fire in 1996 and for those who lived in Ak then will remember that it was a pretty scary event. I worked in emergency services and the scenarios for an Anchorage Hillside fire are pretty scary when one considers the intensity and speed a wildfire can move through the area putting several thousand homes at risk. The fire fighting resources on hand are not adequate to deal with this. I remember a few years ago a fire captain told me candidly that when there are just two good structure fires going in the city it used up a majority of their resources. We maintained what is called the "defensible zone" around our structure by clearing brush and cutting and clearing all the dead spruce. Despite this a large wind driven fire will throw embers. Turns out that someone sharpening a shovel with a grinder is the suspected cause of the Kenai fire, so it is plain to see it does not take much to get a fire started and out of control. As in other fire prone areas in the US an evacuation plan is necessary.

[BudinAk]

Originally Posted by ltdontcare

Are the fires on the Kenai nearing any of you? Does anyone really prep for the fires every year?

Larry

I'm in Seward and none of the fires are near here, but I did knock down the trees closest to the house a few years ago. We have a burn barrel for trash, but I keep a water hose hooked up and handy all summer and fall, in case it should get out of control.
Funny: watched the evening news on TV last night, and the local newscaster said the Kenai fire was the largest in the country at some 55,000 acres, and had burned down over 88 dwellings. But did we hear about it on the national news? Nope...

Bud

[ltdontcare]

Yea, they keep talking about the California fires with no mention of the Kenai fires. I thought they would at least mention you guys in the international news, you know, since you are another country...

Larry

[johnrex62]

Originally Posted by BudinAk

I'm in Seward and none of the fires are near here, but I did knock down the trees closest to the house a few years ago. We have a burn barrel for trash, but I keep a water hose hooked up and handy all summer and fall, in case it should get out of control.
Funny: watched the evening news on TV last night, and the local newscaster said the Kenai fire was the largest in the country at some 55,000 acres, and had burned down over 88 dwellings. But did we hear about it on the national news? Nope...

Bud

Yeah, I am disappointed with the national news too. I was driving back from Homer and saw the smoke before it had spread much beyond a vertical pillar. From my vantage point it was directly behind a mountain peak and I wondered if it was one of the volcanoes putting on a show. But a few miles later I could tell it was nowhere near the mountain at all. I also drove up to Denali on Thursday and drove through the smoke from the Falls Creek fire. It was blanketing the road at 6am pretty well.

I have been trying to keep up with what is happening with them and hear absolutely nothing on radio or tv about either one.

[mal_flisk]

Originally Posted by ltdontcare

Yea, they keep talking about the California fires with no mention of the Kenai fires. I thought they would at least mention you guys in the international news, you know, since you are another country...

Larry

Heh heh, yep, got that from some company when I was ordering parts from outside. Told me they didn't ship overseas.

[rotorhead]

If people would use even a little common sense, fire season wouldn't be nearly as much of a concern. The Hillside, Stuckagain Heights, most of Eagle River, all are in real trouble if a big fire ever gets started on a dry year. the better part of Chugiak and Palmer aren't in much better shape. Despite a decade or better of yearly lectures from the fire dept. guys people still insist on wood shake shingles and having all the pretty trees right up against the house. Maybe they'll make better decisions when they rebuild after the next Millers Reach type fire, but then who really knows.