As Valley Enters Another Day Of Hot Weather, DNR Issues "Red Flag" Fire Warning July 9th

Copper Valley Joins Fairbanks and Northern Roads In Fire Bans On Eastern Side Of State 

Ban starts at 2 pm on Sunday, and runs for 7 hours until 9 pm 

DNR Photo (Copper River Country Journal archives) 

Several small wildland fires in the Copper Valley have already been extinguished in past few days 

Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection Red Flag Warning and Burn Permit Suspensions for July 9, 2023 

BY ALASKA DIVISION OF FORESTRY & FIRE PROTECTION on JULY 9, 2023

The US National Weather Service Alaska issued a #RedFlagWarning effective from 2pm until 9pm Sunday, July 9 for the Copper River Valley including Glennallen, Eureka, McCarthy, Paxson, and Slana. 

Slight ridging will build over the area today ahead of a trough that will move through tonight. Less cloud cover will allow for warmer temperatures, especially over the Copper River Basin where mostly clear skies will result in high temperatures in the upper 60s and 70s. In addition, southerly winds will increase over the Copper River Basin this afternoon with sustained winds up to 17 mph and gusts up to 25 mph, primarily along the valley from Kenny Lake to Gulkana.

Burn permits will be suspended today for the Valdez-Copper River Area areas due to Red Flag Warnings and High Fire Danger conditions. The suspensions will remain in place until conditions change. Burning of debris piles or utilizing a burn barrel is prohibited. Please note that cooking and warming types fires are still allowed but extreme caution must be used due to high wildfire potential should an ember escape or a fire be left unattended or not completely put out. 

Please check https://dnr.alaska.gov/burn or call the burn permit hotline for the most current updates. 

State law requires those wanting to conduct any open burning on state, private and municipal lands from April 1 through Aug. 31 to get burn permits from the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection either online or at your local Forestry office. This includes burning brush piles, using burn barrels, agricultural burning and burning of maintained lawns. Burn permits are NOT required for camping, cooking or warming fires less than three feet in diameter with flame lengths less than two feet high. However, it’s not suggested during windy days or when and where there are red flag warnings. 

You can also find more information about the Forestry burn permit program and suspensions at https://dnr.alaska.gov/burn