Anchorage Fire Department officials are saying the Eagle River and Chugiak area is under extreme fire conditions. AFD Forester John See is concerned.
"The number of trees per acre has increased to the point where it's very thick," See said. "It's unhealthy from the forestry standpoint but it's also a big fire hazard."
With grant money from the Wildland Urban Interface and other sources, many different local groups submitted applications for "Firewise Assessments" throughout the state of Alaska. The AFD is currently in the initial stages of applying to provide more emphasis on the Eagle River and Chugiak area. See says the first step is for Eagle River residents to perform their own assessments, which 70 percent of the cost is covered by the municipality of Anchorage.
"Our prescription for [the Eagle River and Chugiak] area is a thinning regime so there is ten to fifteen feet of spacing between trees," See said.
See says the grant money takes one year to be dispersed and the project could be finished within months.
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