Butte wildfire burns 4 acres; dog rescued

BUTTE — Wildfire threatened multiple structures and quickly consumed about four acres of dry grass and trees Friday afternoon.

Firefighters from the Alaska Division of Forestry and Butte, Palmer and Central Mat-Su fire departments responded to an area off East Mothershead Lane near South Bodenburg Loop about 4:30 p.m. to find an out-of-control brush fire, said Johnny Murdock, fire training coordinator for the Mat-Su Borough Department of Emergency Services.

“It started in this area,” Murdock said, pointing to a charred area about 30 feet east of a residence. “With the wind, it just spread from here. We had a number of structures threatened.”

Responders quickly knocked down the flames and got control of the blaze in about 25 minutes, Murdock said. The only structure lost was home to someone’s pet.

“I think we lost one doghouse,” he said. “The dog was chained to the house, and fortunately Forestry (personnel) got to the dog, so he’s OK.”

Officials were still putting out hot spots early Friday evening and didn’t immediately know what started the fire. The fire basically burned a grassy area with some trees between houses in the Butte neighborhood, Murdock said.

“It’s not easy” fighting a fire in the midst of residences, he said. “Basically, we came in here on the back side of the fire, got on the right and left flank while at the same time bringing apparatus in to protect the structures.”

Along with multiple tankers and ground equipment, a firefighting helicopter was also called it, but soon left to respond to another blaze after the Butte fire came under control.

“Anytime before green-up we have dry, flashy fuels,” Murdock said. “Any type of fire can get out of control in a heartbeat.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.