The Northern New Mexico Incident Management Team recently supported the community of Huslia during its assignment on the Roundabout Complex, a group of wildfires in the remote Alaska Interior.
The team is made up mostly of firefighting and support staff from the southwestern U.S. As guests in Huslia, the team took responsibility for strengthening relationships to heart while working to protect the community from the nearby Moldy Fire. They had help from BLM Alaska Fire Service employees who were in Huslia with the team, including Incident Commander trainee and BLM AFS Fire Specialist Melissa Fischer and BLM AFS Galena Zone’s Matt Kilgriff and Gina Troy, who provided logistical support and local knowledge to help navigate the unique challenges of managing wildfires in rural Alaska.
But the New Mexico team’s support for the community went beyond wildfire response. When Huslia’s main water pump suffered a failure that wasn’t related to the fire, the team didn’t hesitate to help. They gathered empty 5-gallon reusable water containers, known as cubies, that had been used to hydrate fire crews and support personnel. Using local boat operators and boats, they helped ferry the containers 17 miles downriver to collect drinking water from a spring. They also set up a portable tank to hold river water for use in the village’s toilets.
