A fire in the Matauska Susitna Borough has spread to 45 acres and destroyed one cabin in its path.
A fire in the Matauska Susitna Borough has spread to 45 acres (check at newstime) and destroyed one cabin in it’s path. Hot shot crews have been called in from Kenai to help battle the blaze.
Norm McDonald, state fire management officer for the area, says the fire was reported at about 10 acres around 6:30 last [Thursday ] evening
“Right now, the suspected cause is an escaped campfire. “
Last night, state firefighters made air drops of 2000 gallons of fire retardant last [thursday] night, attempting to slow the fire’s spread.
A helicopter also dropped buckets of water on the fire, which is not accessible by road. Crews are being shuttled in on ATV’s to a point off Point MacKenzie Road.
“One crew Granite Glacier, and a helitac crew, so a total of 18 people. We have a second crew Pioneer Peak coming in from Kenai, should arrive on scene this afternoon, and we’ll keep both crews on it for the next several days until we have the fire contained and out. “
Low humidity and temperatures close to 80 degrees are not helping the effort to control the fire. The closest homes are within 4/10s of a mile near New Homesteader Ave.
“Right now we are calling it about 10 percent contained,um, they do have the main fire knocked down, although with the fuel types and the heavy snags and the standing dead trees in the area, it’s difficult to get it fully contained until we get all those trees down and put out. “
McDonald says no other structures are in danger at this time. McDonald reminds people that there is a burn ban in place in the Mat Su Borough.
APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
