Burnt Point home destroyed in blaze

BIG LAKE — At least for one afternoon, Burnt Point was aptly named when a fire fully engulfed a family’s vacation home, burning it to the ground.

Big Lake-Meadow Lakes District Fire Chief Bill Gamble said the fire, which was outside the Big Lake-Meadow Lakes Fire Service Area, was first reported at 3:18 p.m. by a neighbor who saw flames coming from the back of the house.

Crews from Big Lake, Meadow Lakes and the Department of Forestry responded to the fire, but found a difficult situation in crossing the water to get to the home, Gamble said.

Firefighters and gear were ferried to Burnt Point by a large boat provided by South Port Marina owner Jerry Harris, who, Gamble said, let responders use his boat for as long as they needed it. A fire boat from the Big Lake fire department also responded with water pumps on hand. Also, neighbors pitched in to help fight the blaze, with one neighbor lending his own pump.

Gamble said the home, which was a total loss, was a very large, wood structure that served as a second home to the Kincaid family. No one was at the home at the time and it wasn’t clear Monday evening whether the Kincaids are from Alaska.

“A really, really beautiful house,” Gamble said of the structure.

Gamble said William Kincaid and his family were in Valdez at the time of the fire and were on their way back to Burnt Point Monday afternoon after officials notified them of the fire.

At 7 p.m., the fire was still smoldering and officials were on monitor status making sure flames didn’t spread to neighboring trees or homes, Gamble said. The fire occurred outside the fire service area; the Department of Forestry will take over the investigation.

An initial value of the home wasn’t available Monday evening and as of press time, Forestry crews were still on scene watching for flare-ups and investigating the fire’s origin.

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Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiers-  man.com or 352-2252.