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Starting May 1, all burn permits are suspended

April 23, 2020 – News

The use of burn barrels, the burning of debris piles, and any other outdoor burning activity authorized under previously issued burn permits will be prohibited in Juneau starting May 1. This is part of the State of Alaska Division of Forestry’s statewide suspension of all burn permits – both small- and large-scale –​ in anticipation of the impacts of COVID-19 on Alaska’s wildland firefighting resources this summer. Any person or business found to be violating this burn permit suspension order may be issued a citation to pay a fine or appear in court.​

The statewide burn permit suspension will not include cooking, warming, or signaling fires that are less than three feet in diameter with flame lengths no more than two feet high. It also will not include commercially manufactured outdoor cooking and heating devices with built-in open flame safety devices.

Alaskans must do everything possible to prevent wildland fires, limit the spread of COVID-19, and protect firefighters and the public. The suspension of burn permits will help firefighting agencies mitigate some of the significant challenges they’re likely to face this summer, including:

  • An anticipated lack of firefighting resources available from the Lower 48 as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions and quarantine requirements
  • The risk of exposing firefighters to higher risks of contracting and spreading COVID-19 when responding to human-caused nuisance fires
  • Limited firefighting resources available to respond to higher-priority wildland fires which may place lives, property, and infrastructure in imminent danger

Until the May 1 suspension takes effect, small- and large-scale burning on state, municipal, or private lands continues to require permits from Capital City Fire Rescue.

The Alaska Division of Forestry will re-evaluate the burn suspension on a regular basis to determine if and when it is safe to rescind it.

For more information, contact CCFR Fire Marshal Daniel Jager at 586-0260 or [email protected].