00 CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 15(CRA) 01 Urging the Governor, the Department of Natural Resources, division of forestry and fire 02 protection, the Department of Public Safety, municipalities of the state and relevant 03 wildfire planning and response agencies, and the Alaska delegation in Congress to 04 prepare for the 2025 wildfire season. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS the frequency and severity of wildfires in the state is increasing because 07 of the effects of lower precipitation and rising temperatures, leading to prolonged fire seasons; 08 and 09 WHEREAS the 2025 wildfire season presents an increased risk to communities in 10 wildland-urban interface areas, including Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Soldotna, Southeast 11 Alaska, and other high-risk zones across the state, some of which have never experienced 12 wildfires and which contain dangerous fuel loads; and 13 WHEREAS limited water sources, difficult terrain, and constrained or single-access 14 routes to large residential areas in many communities pose significant challenges to ground- 15 based firefighting and evacuation efforts; and 01 WHEREAS the costs of fighting a widespread fire increase significantly when crews 02 must be brought in from out of state, and providing quick, effective, locally sourced fire 03 suppression reduces costs for firefighting and reduces economic losses caused by a fire; and 04 WHEREAS there is community concern about sufficient aerial firefighting resources, 05 sufficient water reservoirs for bucket operations, and adoption of enhanced early detection of 06 wildfires and warning systems to support rapid response; and 07 WHEREAS community safety and preparedness can be improved with early and 08 broad public outreach by engaging the public to learn about wildfires and take action through 09 programs like the Ready, Set, Go! Program, the Firewise USA program, and other local and 10 neighborhood programs, and to conduct evacuation planning and drills with local fire stations 11 and other response agencies; and 12 WHEREAS the role of local and state public information officers, in collaboration 13 with state and federal agencies, is to actively coordinate public education campaigns, enhance 14 emergency notifications, and facilitate communication between fire response agencies and the 15 public; and 16 WHEREAS past legislative efforts have underscored the importance of wildfire 17 mitigation funding, including appropriations granted for wildfire fuel reduction programs, 18 defensible space and fuel break initiatives, and support for local fire departments in high-risk 19 areas; 20 BE IT RESOLVED that, in preparation for the 2025 wildfire season, the Alaska State 21 Legislature urges the Governor, the Department of Natural Resources, division of forestry and 22 fire protection, and relevant municipal and local agencies to enhance wildfire preparedness 23 and response coordination by reviewing and developing comprehensive interagency wildfire 24 response plans specific to high-risk wildland-urban interface communities, with special 25 attention to single-access routes to isolated residential populations, by minimizing hazard 26 trees and reducing sources of fuel for wildfires, including evaluating and removing fuel in 27 rights-of-way and removing intersection obstructions, and by repairing roads that are in poor 28 condition to enable use of the roadways to support wildfire response and safe evacuations; 29 and be it 30 FURTHER RESOLVED that, in preparation for the 2025 wildfire season, the Alaska 31 State Legislature urges local and state public information officers, in collaboration with state 01 and federal agencies, to assist and encourage all residents to learn about the potential for 02 wildfires and changing exposure in their community, including areas designated as wildland- 03 urban interface areas, and to urge residents to learn about and take action to protect their 04 homes and property through home defense programs including the Firewise USA program, 05 and to be prepared for evacuation using the Ready, Set, Go! program, and learn about and 06 enroll in local notification and emergency news sources; and be it 07 FURTHER RESOLVED that, in preparation for the 2025 wildfire season, the Alaska 08 State Legislature urges the Governor, the Department of Natural Resources, division of 09 forestry and fire protection, and relevant municipal and local agencies to conduct emergency 10 response and evacuation drills and to model evacuation scenarios, including planning for the 11 possibility of single-access road closures, emergency vehicle congestion, and multiple fires 12 resulting from ember transport downwind; and be it 13 FURTHER RESOLVED that, in preparation for the 2025 wildfire season, the Alaska 14 State Legislature urges the Governor, the Department of Natural Resources, division of 15 forestry and fire protection, and relevant municipal and local agencies to bolster fire 16 suppression resources by stationing ground and aerial firefighting assets close to high-risk 17 areas during peak fire seasons and enhancing access to water sources for bucket and hose 18 operations in areas with limited local water supplies; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that, in preparation for the 2025 wildfire season, the Alaska 20 State Legislature urges the Governor, the Department of Natural Resources division of 21 forestry and fire protection, and relevant municipal and local agencies to improve fire 22 detection and early warning systems by implementing advanced fire detection technology to 23 improve response times and situational awareness and conducting community-wide tests of 24 emergency notification systems to ensure reliability in crisis situations; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges federal 26 representatives, including the Alaska delegation in Congress, to advocate for increased federal 27 funding and support for the state's wildfire prevention and mitigation efforts. 28 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Michael Dunleavy, 29 Governor of the State of Alaska; the Honorable John Boyle, Commissioner, Department of 30 Natural Resources; the Honorable James Cockrell, Commissioner, Department of Public 31 Safey; the Honorable Suzanne LaFrance, Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage; the 01 Honorable Glenda D. Ledford, Mayor of the City of Wasilla; the Honorable Steve Carrington, 02 Mayor of the City of Palmer; the Honorable David Pruhs, Mayor of the City of Fairbanks; the 03 Honorable Grier Hopkins, Mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough; the Honorable Brian 04 Gabriel, Mayor of the City of Kenai; the Honorable Paul Whitney, Mayor of the City of 05 Soldotna; the Honorable Peter Micciche, Mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough; Doug 06 Schrage, Fire Chief, Anchorage Fire Department; Chad VanOrmer, Regional Forester, Alaska 07 Region, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski 08 and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Nicholas Begich, U.S. 09 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.