SJR 18-WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS  4:19:01 PM CHAIR GIESSEL announced the consideration of SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 18 Urging the Governor, the Department of Natural Resources, division of forestry and fire protection, the Department of Public Safety, municipalities of the state and relevant wildfire planning and response agencies, and the Alaska delegation in Congress to prepare for the 2025 wildfire season. 4:19:47 PM INTIMAYO HARBISON, Staff, Senator Cathy Giessel, Alaska State Legislature, said he would give a short presentation on SJR 18 highlighting the fire risk in Anchorage compared to west coast states and other areas in Alaska. 4:20:05 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 2 and briefly discussed the January 2025 Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, California. 4:20:14 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 3, containing a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) map with the Palisades fire overlaid. He explained that the fire began in a high-risk area and moved into a low-risk area, where it caused severe devastation. 4:20:27 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 4, containing an August 12, 2024, excerpt from the Salem Statesman's Journal titled, "Oregon wildfires: Record for acres burned broken, Crater Lake closes north entrance." He pointed out that, according to the article, in 2024 Oregon broke its total fire burn record. 4:20:38 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 5, containing a map of the Harney County Falls Fire (2024) in Oregon. He explained that this fire moved from a high-risk area to a moderate-risk area. 4:20:45 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 6, containing a map of the Cow Valley Fire/Durkee Fire, Oregon. He explained that this fire moved from a moderate-risk area to a high-risk area, where it burned out of control. 4:21:05 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slides 8-9. Slide 8 contains an excerpt from an article titled, "Munson Creek Fire near Chena Hot Springs still cooking with hot, dry weather." Slide 9 is a map of the Munson Creek Fire, Fairbanks. He explained that this fire began in a moderate-risk area and moved into a high-risk area, causing structural damage and devastation to that region. 4:21:24 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 10, containing excerpts from newspaper articles on the Swan Lake (2019) and Funny River (2014) fires. He said that the Swan Lake fire burned more than 162,000 acres. 4:21:44 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 11, containing maps of the Swan Lake (2019) and Funny River (2014) fires. He noted that both fires (indicated in brown) began in low-risk areas and burned out of control. 4:22:01 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slides 12 - 13. Slide 12 contains an excerpt from an article titled, "McHugh fire now estimated at 842 acres." Slide 13 contains a map of the McHugh Creek Fire (2016), Turnagain Arm. He explained that this fire burned in a low-risk area. He noted that the fire burned for an extended period because fire crews were unable to reach the location due to difficulties navigating the terrain and high wind conditions. 4:22:33 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 15, containing the Anchorage Bowl fire risk assessment map. He explained that the following slides would zoom in on specific areas of this map. 4:22:45 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 16, containing the East Anchorage/Hillside fire risk assessment map. He explained that the dark brown indicates areas of extreme fire risk. Light brown indicates high fire risk. He added that light green and dark green indicate moderate and low risk, respectively. 4:22:03 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 17, containing the East Anchorage/Hillside fire risk assessment map. He directed attention to the red circle, which indicates an area located near the Campbell Tract. 4:23:11 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 18 and discussed the Campbell Tract Fires. He explained that there have been fires in the Campbell Tract area in 2008, 2019, and 2022. He stated that those fires had the potential to burn out of control. He briefly directed attention to the map on the previous slide to illustrate how the fires could have burned throughout the Campbell Tract and up the hillside. 4:23:40 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 19, containing the East Anchorage/Hillside fire risk assessment map, and discussed the wildfire risk to schools, homes, and businesses. He pointed out that Service High School and South High School are highlighted on the map and noted that there are many homes and businesses in between these two schools. This area is a mix of extreme, high, and moderate fire risk. He recalled earlier slides and emphasized that fires can spread between areas with different fire risk levels; therefore, all of the area contained on the map contains the potential for severe fire risk. 4:24:14 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 20, containing the Girdwood fire risk assessment map. He stated that all of Girdwood is considered high or extreme fire risk. He explained that Girdwood relies on volunteer firefighters. In the event of a fire burning out of control, a response unit from the Anchorage Fire Department would take 45 minutes to arrive. He stated that such a lengthy response time is not ideal. 4:24:49 PM MR. HARBISON advanced to slide 21: [Original punctuation provided.] Conclusion  • This resolution highlights the need for focus on wildfire education, mitigation, and preparation in Alaska. This is to avoid large fires seen near or in population centers in California, Oregon, and other parts of Alaska from occurring in Anchorage. • Wildfires can move between high and low risk areas particularly when those areas are adjacent to one another. • With increased wildfire education, mitigation, and preparation Anchorage can avoid the fate of other communities lost to fires in recent years. 4:25:53 PM CHAIR GIESSEL noted that the maps and the modeling included in the presentation came from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska. 4:26:00 PM [CHAIR GIESSEL held SJR 18 in committee.]