Pile burning starts Friday at three White Mountains cabin sites

Smoke will rise over three backcountry cabin sites in the White Mountains National Recreation Area beginning Friday. The public is asked not to call emergency services when it does.

The U.S. Wildland Fire Service will burn piles of unsalvageable black spruce at Eleazar's Cabin, Summit Trail Shelter and Wickersham Trail Shelter. The burns are scheduled to start Sept. 25 and continue through Sept. 29. Ignition timing depends on weather and fuel moisture. Crews will be on site for the duration.

The piles were built after a 2025 wildfire, the Bureau of Land Management said Tuesday. The agency said the burns reduce future wildfire risk. They also protect private property and community members and provide a safety corridor for firefighters. It said the burns will also improve the cabins' resilience to future fires.

The BLM closed a southwestern portion of the recreation area in June 2025 because of activity associated with the Obrien Fire, which started in mixed spruce-hardwood forest east of the Summit Trail. The closure shut trails, public-use cabins, trail shelters and the Wickersham Dome Trailhead over firefighter-safety concerns. Eleazar's Cabin was among those closed. The BLM lifted the closure on Aug. 15, 2025 as fire activity dropped.

The recreation area spans one million acres about an hour's drive from Fairbanks, off the Steese and Elliott Highways. It has 13 public-use cabins and two trail shelters.

The agency said prescribed-fire smoke may affect health. It directed questions to Fuels Technician Andrew Smith at (860) 882-2214. Fire Specialist Melissa Fischer can be reached at (907) 356-5831. The agency pointed the public to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation for further information on smoke and health.