Burnt Point fire won't be investigated

BIG LAKE - - It probably will never be officially known how a fire that destroyed a vacation home on Burnt Point began on Monday.

Division of Forestry Fire Fighter Dispatcher Tim Mattoon said Wednesday there is no plans for an investigation to determine what sparked the blaze that consumed the cabin and some of the surrounding forest.

Since the cabin was outside the Big Lake-Meadow Lakes Fire Service Area, Big Lake Fire Department Chief Bill Gamble said his crew would not be conducting an investigation either.

Mattoon said since Forestry would not investigate the cabin fire because the division doesn’t handle structure fires.

The Burnt Point fire was first reported Monday around 3:18 p.m. when a neighbor saw flames coming from the first floor of the vacation home owned by the Kincaid family, Gamble said.

It’s still unclear whether the Kincaids are from Alaska, though Gamble said neighbors mentioned the family might be from Mississippi.

Crews from the Big Lake and Meadow Lakes fire departments, and Forestry, responded to the fire and were faced with a difficult situation when trying to access the blaze.

Because of the fire’s location, on the northeast side of Burnt Point, crews and their gear had to be ferried across on a boat owned by South Port Marina owner Jerry Harris.

Big Lake’s fire boat was also on scene, and fire crews received some help from neighbors, with one lending his own pump to help fight the fire, Gamble said.

The Kincaids were in Valdez at the time of the fire, and , after being notified Monday, were en route to Big Lake.

No one was injured during the blaze, though Gamble said one fire fighter did suffer a bit of heat exhaustion.

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