Forsythe Park Wildfire Mitigation Project

Contact Sue Barkwood 267-4902, 317-7236

04.26.07

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 is expected to begin Monday, April 30, 2007.

This Anchorage Hillside park has lost many spruce trees to the spruce bark beetle. In an effort to keep a forest fire from spreading into the surrounding neighborhood and to support the growth and vigor of live trees, the forest treatment project will carefully remove dead trees and limb live trees. A 50-foot buffer will be left around the stream.

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.

The perimeter of the park consists mostly of white and black spruce with some hardwoods. The interior is dense black spruce. Removal of dead trees and a moderate thinning combined with pruning the residual healthy trees will serve to reduce overall fire behavior in the park and in areas adjacent to the homes and roadway.

Tree limbs will be burned on site by professional firefighters and smoke will be present. Burning is delayed until after school is excused for the summer on May 23^rd. 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 to limit the spread of invasive plants and to re-vegetate the site.

Wildfires Happen . . . Be Ready!
 www.muni.org/fire