newsminer.com

The wind was blowing pretty good on Monday, with gusts of about 30 mph or so in some areas around Fairbanks. Even stronger gusts were reported farther out in the Interior.

That’s one sign.

The scanner in the newsroom was alive in mid-morning with chatter from some local fire departments responding to a grass fire on the east side of town, up the Old Steese Highway.

That’s another sign.

Fire season is upon us, all right, and it’s time once again to be reminded of that annual fact of life in a state that has many communities located in areas that can burn quite easily. That’s particularly true of the Fairbanks area, a sprawling region dotted with homes and cabins among the woods — woods that in many instances, depending on their makeup, can burn in a flash.

So it’s fitting that the state have a Wildland Fire Prevention Week at the beginning of fire season. This week is that week, designated as such by Gov. Sarah Palin. The idea, of course, is to raise awareness about wildland fire prevention and protection. Prevention and protection are equally important. Prevention reduces the number of wildland fires; protection guards against damage and death from those that do occur, since not all fires can be prevented.

The state Division of Forestry has a number of resources available to help people prevent fires and protect against them when they do occur. There’s information on the division’s Web site (forestry.alaska.gov). And people will be able to get firsthand information at a Division of Forestry open house scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. Friday in Fairbanks at the division’s Fairbanks headquarters, located at 3700 Airport Way. Division of Forestry firefighting equipment will be on display, and personnel will be available to answer questions about defending your home and land from a wildfire.

Fire season is here and will only grow in severity as the weeks go by.

Now is the time to prepare.