To mitigate the risk and hazard of wildfire in the neighborhood, the Anchorage Fire Department has partnered with the MOA Parks & Recreation Department and the Anchorage School District for a wildfire mitigation project in Forsythe Park. The park is located on the east side of Birch Road, just south of O’Malley Road. This project initially began April 30; however, slash pile burning has been occurring intermittently during the summer.

Tree limbs will be burned by professional firefighters and smoke will be present in the area. Burn piles are connected to a charged water source and are fully extinguished at the end of each day. Burn piles will be seeded with native grass and spruce seedlings to limit the spread of invasive plants and to re-vegetate the site. Mechanical equipment is also being used in some areas to treat the slash. This area was especially hard hit by the spruce bark beetle.

Improving forest health in this park may be accomplished by pruning the live, residual trees to stave off a future bark beetle attack. Removing the large fuels from the forest will allow more light to encourage regeneration of spruce and birch seedlings.