The Alaska Division of Forestry has issued a burn permit suspension as of 8 a.m. July 18 for the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak areas. According to a notice from the Homer Volunteer Fire Department, the suspension has been put in place due to high to very-high fire danger in the region and the continued drying and curing of fine fuels. The suspension includes the burning of debris and brush piles, burn barrels and lawns as allowed in the 2016 General Burn Permit.

The general burn permit suspension does not include campfires less than 3 feet in diameter, and commercially made barbeques, meat smokers, hibachis, camp stoves and other outdoor cooking and warming devices. People building campfires should have plenty of water on site to put out any embers that might escape the campfire enclosure. A cleared area of at least 5 feet also should be around the fire. That includes driftwood logs on beaches. State burning statutes require the fire to be completely out when you are done. For further information on the current burn suspension, call 907-260-4269 or visit www.forestry.alaska.gov/burn.