most national wildlife refuges, the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is open to hunting with certain restrictions, in particular in the area of Skilak Lake Road. Wildfires Naturally occurring wildfires are seen as beneficial in the long run for boreal forests, and so many areas of the Refuge are classified as limited suppression areas and firs may be allowed to burn unchecked so long as they do not move toward populated areas or Refuge facilities. In any given year there is a high likelihood of several small fires burning within the refuge. In 2009 lightning ignited the Shanta Creek Wildfire, which burned over of Refuge land before it began moving toward populated areas outside of Soldotna and was aggressively fought to keep it from endangering these areas. The Funny River Fire, a human-caused fire that began on May 19, 2014, had burned largely in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. During firefighting activities, a wolf den was damaged by a bulldozer and 5 pups (3 males and 2 females) were rescued by firefighters. The pups were taken to the Alaska Zoo and were later transferred to the Minnesota Zoo. In 2019, lightning again ignited a major wildfire, named the Swan Lake Fire, and again it was allowed to burn unchecked for some time, until it began to threaten the communities of Sterling and Cooper Landing, as well the Sterling Highway and the Refuge's Skilak Lake Road, the only roads allowing access to towns on the lower Kenai Peninsula. In total were burned before it was contained, but no structures were destroyed and there were no deaths. Gallery References External links Official Site 1941 establishments in Alaska ANILCA establishments National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska Protected areas of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Wetlands of Alaska Landforms of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska