One of Aniak’s grocery stores and some of the city’s residents briefly locked down on Thursday because of concerns about an active shooter, shortly before a house fire in which a person was found dead.
Alaska State Troopers said in an updated online dispatch Monday that they responded to the Kuskokwim River community Thursday morning after reports of gunfire. Shortly after, they found a home across a slough from the main part of town fully engulfed in flames.
Troopers said that they found human remains inside of the burned residence. They said that they could not locate the homeowner in the area. Troopers have not yet said whether the remains are those of the homeowner, and have not released the name of the deceased, but said Monday that no foul play is suspected in the fire.
While the search for the person who had allegedly been shooting a gun was underway, Aniak City Manager Lenore Kameroff said that she put the word out about a potential threat to public safety, but had few details to go on.
“We could never get definitive word on what was going on or where they were looking or anything,” Kameroff said. “So we were just advising people if they’re not comfortable being at work to either lock their doors or go home for the day and lock their doors.”
At around 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Kameroff said that she spotted smoke coming from a residence located across Aniak Slough in an area known as the old town.
“My office is at least maybe a mile or two from where everything took place and I could hear gunshots, I could see the flames from the house fire,” Kameroff said.
Aniak resident Dave Cannon said that he also heard gunshots throughout the morning, and that several of his neighbors heard shots coming from the property throughout the previous night.
Cannon said that he loaned his boat to troopers, who didn’t have a boat in the water and needed to quickly respond to the fire. By the time troopers reached the area, Cannon said that the home was fully engulfed.
“They did get up and look around and felt that at least after a while it was safe enough for the city to send people across to help fight the fire,” Cannon said.
The City of Aniak put the call out for volunteer firefighters on their Facebook page at noon Thursday, and the fire was brought under control by the early afternoon.
“You know, it’s impressive. Aniak can come together, and a lot of people just were ready to go and help out over there,” Cannon said.
Cannon said that the fire could have been catastrophic for the half-dozen homes located across the slough if wet weather hadn’t recently set in around Aniak.
The remains found in the home will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage, and the state fire marshal’s office will respond to investigate the origin and cause of the fire.
