A changing climate is forcing fire managers to reevaluate their approach to battling disasters — according to a group of local, state and federal agency representatives gathered on Wednesday in Soldotna to discuss agencies’ response to the Swan Lake Fire.
Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Kenai/Soldotna, called the meeting to discuss management strategies in the wake of the fire, which burned more than 160,000 acres and threatened the communities of Sterling and Cooper Landing.
Micciche said the purpose of the meeting was to learn more about how decisions were made in managing the fire and whether those decisions were based on outdated strategies that hadn’t taken into account the unprecedented hot and dry conditions of the summer.