I have been trying to remember how long it has been since this area of the state burned. The Alaska forest burn about every 40 years from what I have read, some places more often and others less. SE Alaska, being it is a rain forest doesn't have forest fires so about the only place to harvest marketable sized timber.
Most Alaska forest fires are started by lightning strikes in the summer time. The majority of them are just allowed to burn themselves out, if towns or property of value is not involved. Along the highways and near urban areas many of the fires are started by humans, in one way or the other.
The policy of the BLM, Bureau of Land Management, is normally not to hire fire crews from close to the fires, too much temptation for some not to help get summer jobs going for themselves. I read that one of the Hot Shot fire crews is from Chena, up by Fairbanks.
