Two people were severely burned in a fire in Bethel on June 6. The Bethel Fire Department responded at 3:36 a.m. to a fire at 236 East Avenue, across the street from Corina’s Case Lot Groceries near the Brown’s Slough mouth.
When the firefighters arrived, two homes and a vehicle were burning. In total, 16 firefighters and six police officers responded, according to a statement from the fire department. Five city water trucks delivered water to the area to contain the flames.
Firefighters brought the fire under control around 6:30 a.m., three hours later. The fire department determined the fire started unintentionally from “discarded smoking material in dry grass.”
Officials have not released the victims’ ages.
The Alaska Division of Forestry warns that much of Alaska is at risk of fire due to dry conditions.
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Anna Rose MacArthur is a reporter at KYUK in Bethel.
