The ordinance will remain in effect for 60 days. City officials say it is intended to help deter illegal burning and better prevent destructive residential and wildland fires in Anchorage.
Assembly members passed the emergency ordinance on Tuesday in a unanimous vote, following a request from Mayor Dave Bronson's administration and Assembly Vice Chair Chris Constant.
Anchorage Fire Chief Doug Schrage instituted a municipality-wide burn ban last week. The ban came after the National Weather Service issued a "red flag warning" on Friday, cautioning that hot and windy weather across much of Southcentral Alaska last weekend could fuel the rapid ignition and spread of fires.
In Anchorage, warm weather is expected to persist during the coming Memorial Day Weekend.
"As we go into this weekend, we're predicting temperatures reaching 70, which will only compound that situation, and if wind kicks up we could be seeing a very critical situation for life and safety within the municipality," Municipal Manager Amy Demboski said.
Open burning is currently prohibited within Anchorage, including all open fires such as backyard fire pits and recreational fires, though charcoal, propane, and pellet-fired barbecues are exempted.
The emergency law makes violating the open burning ban a class A misdemeanor crime anytime a burn ban is in effect.
Class A misdemeanors can carry a sentence of up to one year in jail and up to a $10,000 fine, according to city code.
The Assembly is slated to consider passing similar legislation next month that would make the heightened consequences for burn ban violations a permanent part of city code.
The Anchorage Fire Department has so far responded to more than 40 illegal burns, including several that led to wildland fires that were later extinguished, Demboski said.
A fire that destroyed an Anchorage Hillside home on Sunday night quickly spread to nearby dried brush and woods, igniting a small wildfire that prompted response from numerous agencies, and firefighters rescued a woman from the deck of the burning home. Fire officials have said they don't believe that the fire was caused by illegal outdoor burning and that it may have been related to a barbecue, and that the investigation is ongoing.
State fire officials have said fire danger is unusually high in Anchorage compared to typical conditions during May.
©2022 the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska), Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
