BUTTE — A wildfire climbed up the south flank of Bodenburg Butte Thursday afternoon after a property owner’s controlled burn got out of control.

Members of the Butte Fire Department — located just a stone’s throw from the fire — were the first to respond to the blaze at around 1:30 p.m., followed by the Alaska Division of Forestry, Central Fire Department, Palmer Fire Department and Wasilla Fire Department. The fire eventually burned about 5 acres before being brought under control after burning for nearly three hours.

Butte Fire Department Capt. John Akers estimated between 25 and 30 personnel were used to fight the fire.

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No structures were burned in the blaze and no injuries were reported. By 4 p.m., firefighters at the scene reported the blaze was 100 percent contained by crews that had to negotiate the Butte’s steep terrain, each hauling five gallons of water up to where the fire was burning.

“And they’re climbing up ground that’s frozen underneath and slippery on top,” Akers said. “Not the easiest conditions to work in.”

Fire crews remained on scene into the evening to mop up the blaze and put down any hot spots.

The fire began when eight-decade Valley resident Lynn Sandvik — whose family homesteaded the area in the 1930s — was burning a pile of logs on his property.

“We had set a fire to get rid of it,” Sandvik said.    

The fire spread up the 875-foot monolith, eventually sending a thick column of smoke over the Mat-Su Valley.

In addition to being the area’s namesake, the Butte is a popular hiking area, with hiking trails running up both the north and south sides. Neither trail appeared to be in the line of fire, which ran up a steep, rocky slope before reaching the top of the Butte, where it was turned back by fire crews and cold, frozen ground that helped to slow its progress.

Sandvik said that nearby dry grasses caught fire, allowing his controlled burn to start running up the hillside.

“It just jumped over into the grass and got up the side of the Butte,” Sandvik explained.

Thursday’s fire is not the first time flames have scorched the Butte. Fires in the 1930s, ’50s and ’60s also claimed much of the area, and many of the newer trees on the south side of the Butte are the result of those burns.

Akers said the state Division of Forestry will be in charge of the investigation in the fire. Alaska State Troopers spoke briefly with Sandvik, as did a Forestry representative. Sandvik said Troopers did not say they were charging him with any crime as a result of the fire. Forestry officials at the scene said the incident is under investigation.

Contact Matt Tunseth at matt.tunseth@frontiers-man.com or 352-2265.