Alaska State Forestry Urges Public To Go To Truthful Sources During Forest Fires

COPPER RIVER COUNTRY JOURNAL 

Here's Where To Find Out About Alaska's Forest Fires & Why Accurate Information Is Important 

August 25, 2026: As the Tok Mukluk Fire begins to calm down after three episodes of rain in the past 5 days, the State is experiencing a new challenge -- helping the public become aware of the perils of AI-generated information. One example of the problem is a YouTube video showing the Tok fire in a graphic and exciting manner which is nevertheless incorrect.

(See the video and picture clips in this Country Journal .) 

Fire Staff Officer Sarah Saarloos of the Division of Forestry and Fire Protection confirmed to the Journal what Nick Young, of Fast Eddy's in Tok, told the Journal earlier:

"None of those pictures are correct. They are all AI."  

Forestry puts a lot of effort into giving out information during emergencies, but in this case – with outside forces bringing in what is commonly known as "AI Slop", "We have no control of it. All we have control of is our verified sources of akfireinfo.com and our Facebook page," said Sarah Saarloos. 

CLICK TO SEE FORESTRY FACEBOOK PAGE HERE:

The fire staff officer added: "It’s only going to get weirder as time goes on, which is why we work with verified media — some of the traditional media sources in Alaska – making sure they have access. That is our approach going forward."

The struggle against false information isn't limited to us. 

"It’s not just the state of Alaska dealing with this. Washington, Oregon, California… being able to have timely accurate information for the public is challenging when there is more AI influence into social media sites. We need people to be going to the correct source. You see people being able to help their neighbors: Hey that’s from this AI site. That’s not true. Please share the correct information." 

She acknowledged, "That sensationalism and graphics from unknown sources does get shared more."  

But, despite its slick persuasiveness, "There can be false information about evacuation levels. Where the actual fire is at. It can really impact public safety and hamper fire operations. Part of the reason we do evacuations is get the public out of harm’s way and be able to work within that space. If people don’t get that (correct) information it can put them in harm’s way and also hamper our effectiveness to attack the fire."

It's time to go back to helping others in rural Alaska: "That's how Alaskans can help Alaskans. They can share information to counter the false information that can be harmful."