‘Alaska’s Changing Wildfire Environment’ report updated

The University of Alaska Fairbanks has released an updated report highlighting recent wildfire trends in Alaska, their impacts to humans and wildlife, and how science can improve wildfire management decisions.

“Alaska’s Changing Wildfire Environment 2.0” provides people with timely, reliable and understandable information in a visually appealing and concise format. It updates key long-term wildfire trends and highlights the changes and impacts that have emerged or accelerated over the past five years. 

The Alaska Fire Science Consortium at the UAF International Arctic Research Center led production of the report, which is highly anticipated by the Alaska wildfire management community. 

“I absolutely appreciate your group updating this document. I think it is very well done. We use/share/reference this document a lot!” said Jennifer Hrobak in an email to AFSC. Hrobak is a fire management and program analyst and fire planner at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Alaska Fire Service. “It's a great resource to be able to hand off to new employees, visiting staff, VIPs, etc.” 

This is the second edition of “Alaska’s Changing Wildfire Environment,” which was first published in 2020. The inaugural report proved to be a popular resource for wildfire managers, educators, scientists, media, policymakers and others interested in learning and communicating about wildfire in Alaska. 

“It’s funny, I was just thinking this year, ‘I wonder if there’s going to be a round two that updates the numbers,’” said Norm McDonald, deputy director of fire protection for the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection. “It’s such an awesome resource. We refer to it often when presenting our story, and the people I share it with always find it incredibly valuable.”

In the five years since release of the first report, wildfire activity in Alaska has continued to change and become less predictable as rapidly increasing temperatures and longer growing seasons alter the state's environment. 

In 2022, over a million acres burned in southwestern Alaska, a region where wildfires have historically been rare. In 2023, managers of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge introduced an experimental fire management plan to protect carbon stored in ice-rich permafrost. In 2024, fires in the Fairbanks North Star Borough resulted in evacuations and burned more acres than any year since 2004.

This spring, low snow in southern Alaska prompted state fire managers to require burn permits starting on March 17 rather than the usual April 1 in some areas. This year’s low snowfall in southern Alaska contributes to a long-term trend toward earlier snow-off in spring — which was recently linked to larger wildfire seasons — and lengthening wildfire seasons.

"The AFSC continues to provide quality information based on scientific research that is extremely valuable to fire and land managers,” said Mike Trimmer, the state’s fire management officer for the Valdez and Copper River region. "I use the brochures and presentations at public events including community planning, fire prevention and preparedness, management option changes and fuels management meetings."

The report and its graphics are available for download. “Alaska’s Changing Wildfire Environment 2.0” is a part of a larger series called Alaska’s Changing Environment.

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