What is a Shaded Fuel Break? Hear from a fuels specialist/project coordinator

DOF Fuels Specialist and Project Manager Ethan DeBauche talks about specifications for the East-West Connector shaded break. This Wildfire Risk reduction is taking place on the Anchorage Hillside and is a collaboration between Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection and The Anchorage Fire Department

The project began May 5th and will continue through May 23rd.

🔹 LENGTH: 1.25 miles long 🔹 WIDTH: 200 feet wide 🔹 AREA: 35 acres

OBJECTIVES:
Reduce fuels to protect life, property, and infrastructure.
Create defensible space that improves firefighter access and operational safety.
Interrupt fuel continuity while retaining a healthy, fire-resilient forest.

LOCATION: Anchorage Hillside area from Hilltop Ski Area to Prospect Heights trailhead on both municipal and state land.

SPECIFICATIONS:
DOF wildland firefighters from Gannett Glacier Fire Crew will use chainsaws to thin the forest and decrease fuel (vegetation) build up as part of a shaded fuel break. The crew will build “slash” piles, which will be burned as early as this spring or later in the fall depending on conditions. This method of hand-thinning a forest and burning piles is least impactful to the land.

Cutting Specifications
· Promote hardwood dominated forest composition
· Retain ecological and habitat functions
· Achieve approximately 10 feet of crown spacing between spruce
· Retain healthy over story trees, prioritizing hardwoods.
· Retain standing dead trees, unless directed otherwise for safety or fuel continuity concerns.
· Maintain consideration for habitat concerns.

SAFETY:
🚒 Drivers are urged to use caution as an increased number of emergency vehicles utilizing Abbott Rd and Hillside Dr over the next three weeks.

🚫 Closures for the Hillside Singletrack Trail System will be in place for public and firefighter safety. All trails south of Upper Gasoline Trail will be closed for the duration of the project.

** For more information, contact: AK DOF PIO Jacob Welsh (541)-977-2756, jacob_welsh@firenet.gov **

#eastwestconnector #fuelsreduction #anchoragehillside

Видео What is a Shaded Fuel Break? Hear from a fuels specialist/project coordinator канала AlaskaDNRDOF