New video draws lessons from McKinley Fire
October 7, 2020
Tom Moran
907-474-5581
Homeowners affected by 2019鈥檚 McKinley Fire have shared their experiences in a new video aimed at helping people protect their property from wildfire.
鈥溾 features interviews with multiple residents of the fire area. The fire destroyed 52 primary residences, three commercial structures, and 84 outbuildings along a 10-mile stretch of the Parks Highway north of Willow. The video also includes accounts by fire personnel and recommendations for protecting homes from wildfire risk.
The video was coproduced by 性欲社' Alaska Center for Energy and Power and the Alaska National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
The work was part of EPSCoR鈥檚 project, a statewide five-year study of climate-driven changes to Alaska鈥檚 coastal margins and boreal wildfires. The video came about through the efforts of Jen Schmidt, a Fire and Ice researcher who has been studying the social impacts of Alaska wildfires. Schmidt, who conducted the interviews in the video, said she wanted to create an educational product for homeowners in the wildland-urban interface.
鈥淏ased on my discussions with Anchorage residents and municipality employees, I knew that wildfire is a concern, and efforts to promote increased resilience towards wildfire were welcomed,鈥 said Schmidt, an assistant professor with the University of Alaska Anchorage Institute of Social and Economic Research. 鈥淭he world is a busy place, and people are stretched thin, but together we can make a difference.鈥
The interviews were filmed and edited by ACEP鈥檚 Amanda Byrd and EPSCoR鈥檚 Naomi Hutchquist. Additional footage was provided by the Alaska Division of Forestry, and both Hutchquist and EPSCoR鈥檚 Cassidy Phillips created animations for the video. The video contains content derived from the Anchorage Fire Department鈥檚 wildfire safety program, and the department plans to use the video in its .
鈥淗elping to tell the very personal and often devastating stories of wildfire effects on a community was a unique and humbling experience,鈥 said Byrd, ACEP鈥檚 chief storyteller. 鈥淗aving the video be used to educate homeowners on how to protect their homes and property from future wildfire risk is wonderfully rewarding.鈥
For more information, contact Byrd at agbyrd@alaska.edu or 907-978-0305.