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Fairbanks planners say Tanana River remapping will remove about 2,800 structures from high‑risk flood zones
Summary
Borough planners described a multi‑year FEMA mapping project that relies on new LiDAR data, will trigger a 90‑day appeal period and require the borough to adopt new maps within six months after a federal letter of final determination.
Callan Spellman, director of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Department of Community Planning, told the assembly on June 17 that a FEMA study to revise flood maps for the Tanana River will remove about 2,800 structures from mapped high‑risk flood zones while adding roughly 538 structures.
“This is, of all the projects I've worked on over my career, this is probably the most impactful project for the residents of our community,” Spellman said, introducing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)–related map revision and a parallel review of borough Title 15 floodplain rules.
The presentation traced local flood history from the 1967 event, described how the Moose Creek Dam and levy system reduces mapped risk for many parcels, and explained FEMA’s use of base flood elevations — regulatory elevations that determine building standards and influence insurance rates. Adam Pruitt, the borough’s floodplain administrator, walked the assembly through an online story map that compares the current digital FEMA maps with the proposed…
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