Tundra Fires and there long term effects.

[Rex in OTZ]

You walk across NorthWest Alaska look around, some places there is lots of grass and no caribou if you are from down states you could imagine stock cattle would be content grazeing there while looking at all that nice green pasture land!
Seems the Botinists working for the National Park Service after collecting data for a very long time determined that ground burned off even as long as 60 years ago effects lichen regeneration, fire wipes out the basegrowth needed to regenerate the favorite snack of the caribou.
Slow lichen return and warmer climate the lichens are very slow to regenerate these places are soon overgrown by grass and willow, the Caribou will not range for long in these areas of past fires due to lack of there fave brouse pluse they dont like hanging out in willows that much, something to do with preditors, when planning a caribou hunt might want to study up where there had been fires, the places that hadent burnt will most likely have a greater chance of a good hunt due to prevalance of good brouse.

[williamlayton]

Take heed when reading this--I'm a flatlander.
Can the Lichen be artificially reintroduced?
Blessings

[Siskiyou]

Suspect the Alaska Fire Service has some data that maybe of use.
http://afsmaps.blm.gov/imf_firehistory/imf.jsp?site=firehistory

Check this link out and suspect you can find historical maps at their main office.

http://fire.ak.blm.gov/predsvcs/maps.php

[Swampman]

So fires do not occur naturally?  Why would the climate be warmer?

[Rex in OTZ]

Alaska beleve it or not does have fires, forrest fires and tundra fires useally by lightning, the lateist trend has been longer warmer summers, most the Arctic is classified as a arid region with little pracipitation, the lichens dont have roots and for the most part dont draw there nutrients from the soil, they draw them from cool moist weather Ther optimum growing habatat which we seem to have in short abundance these days.
Ive some pictures form Monday June 21st, The first picture is caribou's favorite lichen as you can see this is one patch of 8 we found on just one acre parcile so average that out a caribou is going to have a hard time browseing here, the wrinkles in the tundra that appear like cattle paths is slow melting of permafrost with topsoil sluffing the biomass blanket overs the cracks that go down qite a wase, the sink hole full off snow and willows my kid and dog are in is where a ice boulder had melted away and has caused this depression this hole wasent there 20 years ago, the red snow ball was alge growth found on the snow you dont see that very oftin, by this time of the year 35-40 years ago this ravine would have still been drifted across with snow, from the slow onset of warm weatherand still have pack ice blocks still on the beaches.
We are having beach erossion now because of no sea ice present during our fall time storms the waves are errodeing the sand & gravel, During storms the pack ice is blown ashore pushing up the sand and gravel createing beach ridges, no sea ice means no beach ridges.

[Siskiyou]

"So fires do not occur naturally?  Why would the climate be warmer?"

Swampman:  The swamp gas must have struck home and put tongue-in-cheek.

Lightning has been the major cause of fires away from the villages in AK.  At least two subject links are dedicated to lightning on one of the links provided.

The Alaskan Smokejumpers are kept rather busy in AK fire season, many years when the AK season shuts down they move to bases in the lower 48.  In turn the Alaskan season normally starts earlier than the fire season in the Western U.S. and jumpers go to AK to help out.  Looking at your profile I think you would have liked jumping into bear country with a 44, a shovel, and MRE’s. 

A natural forest has a number of climate zones like a loaf of bread.  When fire penetrates the duff, and the soil the local climate changes and plants that survived in that zone may cease to exist.

This morning’s report AK large fire activity

Alaska Area (PL 2)
New fires: 35
New large fires: 2
Uncontained large fires: 3
* Godlbug Creek, Galena Zone, BLM. Fifteen miles south of Deering, AK. Grass. No further information
received.
* Louie Creek, Galena Zone, BLM. Ten miles southwest of Huslia, AK. Black spruce and tundra. Active fire
behavior. Precipitation occurred over the fire area yesterday.
Sheklukshuk Range, Galena Zone, BLM. Twenty miles south of Ambler, AK. Tundra and brush. No new
information.
Willow Creek, Military Zone, BLM. Previously reported confine/contain incident. Ten miles southwest of
Fairbanks, AK. Timber. Moderate fire activity with isolated single and group tree torching. Last report unless
significant activity occurs.

[Rex in OTZ]

There was a fire tanker plane sitting on the OTZ ramp just last friday, one them canadian made anphib's, this morning the summary of fires last week was in just one area, over 11 scatterd round inside a million acre area as reported by a local wild life refuge, theres allot of other fires in GMU 23 area on Native, State and Federal lands scatterd across tundra, river bottom and high ground its all tinder dry as not much rain fall to keep it all in check.
Heres some the refuge fires reported.
#492 Kuchuk Creek 150 acres
#491 Rabbit Creek 2000 acres
#448 Shinilikrok Creek 200 acres
#475 Selawik River 2 acres
#449 Kerulu Creek 10 acres
#446 Kugarak River 300 acres
#444 Selawik River 70 acres
This fire season season yet isnt as bad as it was a couple years back,  the inland fires over round interiour were so bad we out on the coast could taste the wood flavor on our dried salmon, they actually had airquality days when the healthservice recomended staying indoors, that whole summer the sky could be cloudless but the smoke haze was extreme cutting down visibility for aircraft at times to 5-7 miles

[Sourdough]

Was talking to the State Fire Coordinator last week.  Our recent rains here in the Interior has given him time to take some time off.  But our worst months are yet to come.  

So far they have had one firefighter kill at least two (there has been a report of a third, but as of yet uncomfirmed) Black Bears with a Polaski (Fire Ax).

I'll find out more tomorrow at our weekly meeting.

[Rex in OTZ]

Crispy Acres to the north of town.
Burned up 2-3 cabin on the Noatak River.

[Rex in OTZ]

Back in June there were fire's well its July and they still are round, new ones poping up oftin.
The Parkservice has some on there land to the north and to the east.
some fire bombers stopping over in OTZ  for Av-Gas.