Investigators will try to determine the cause of an explosion and fire that injured several people at a convenience store and gas station in Cantwell on Sunday. Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says the evening fire, which destroyed the building, started with a large explosion.
Ipsen says the blast and flames injured five people, including two store employees.
Ipsen says the injured were transported to hospitals in Fairbanks and Anchorage. Firefighters and other emergency personnel came from the Cantwell, Tri Valley and Trapper Creek departments. State Troopers, the National Park Service and the State Department of Transportation also aided in the response. Bad weather and icy roads slowed their arrival. Flames were kept from spreading to outside fuel pumps and tanks, but Ipsen says some vehicles were burned.
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Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
