Alaska

Bringing firewood into Alaska puts the forests at risk due to invasive tree pests that often hide within the wood. Many visitors to Alaska live in areas infested with harmful forest pests including emerald ash borer, spongy moth, and mountain pine beetle. Also, since Alaska has ongoing outbreaks of the highly destructive spruce beetle in the Southcentral region, authorities at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) provide several recommendations for firewood users designed to prevent and reduce the risk of transporting pests:

Public and private parks in Alaska often have their own firewood rules or restrictions. Some Alaska State Parks sell firewood on-site, otherwise, you should bring local firewood or collect dead and downed wood within the parks. Authorities at Denali and Glacier Bay national parks encourage visitors to use the firewood that is available for purchase at their campgrounds. Also, the Kenai NWR recommends camp stoves over campfires but allows for the collection of dead and downed wood on-site. Be sure to find out the rules at your destination before bringing firewood; when in doubt, buy it where you burn it.

Bringing firewood from Canada into the USA is prohibited unless the firewood is labeled and certified heat-treated. Read about these requirements on the USDA and CBP firewood information sheet.

Bringing firewood from the USA into Canada is prohibited unless the firewood is labeled and certified heat-treated. Canada also encourages visitors to use local firewood.

This summary is accurate to the best of DMF staff abilities as of 3 October 2023.

Alaska Web Resources:

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