Cooler weather calms fires

June 2, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - By the time Wednesday's rain arrived, 57 fires had burned 599 acres in the Mat-Su Valley and Anchorage area, according to a report from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center.

&#8220We have been running nonstop,” said Jack Krill Jr., chief of Central Mat-Su Fire Department. &#8220This gave us time to recuperate from a week of nonstop fires and calls.”

Krill said most of the fires that taxed the resources of all the fire-service agencies in the Valley had a human cause.

&#8220A lot of carelessness starts fires,” he said. &#8220A lot of people burned brush last winter that reignited.”

While Wednesday's cooler, damp weather eased the immediate fire danger, it didn't much change the big picture.

&#8220The forestry hasn't lifted the burn suspension,” he said. &#8220Things could dry out very easily. Conditions are actually worse than they were 10 years ago before the Millers Reach Fire.”

No official cause has been announced for last weekend's 461-acre fire near Point MacKenzie, which was contained Tuesday night.

&#8220Investigations are continuing, but it appears the tree on the power line will be the official cause,” said Pete Buist, fire investigator and public information officer with the Division of Forestry.

The same likely cause started Sunday's King River fire near Mile 67.5 Glenn Hwy., said Buist. That fire closed both lanes of the highway for six hours Sunday, and Buist said it may affect the road in the future.

&#8220This was a real interesting fire, that will affect us for some time to come,” Buist said. &#8220I predict that there will be trees falling onto the road until someone decides to cut them.”

Normally, convection spreads a fire uphill, he said. But Sunday's wind was blowing down river, which kept the fire burning deep into the duff. When the winds let up, the fire moved uphill, then burned deep in place when the winds picked up again.

&#8220So we have a hillside next to the road with soil and roots burned,” he said.

The King River fire burned a total of 13 acres, said Kathy Dawson, another forestry public information officer. Crews were mopping up Thursday, and planned to demobilized today, depending on hot spots, she said.

According to the Forestry Division, several new fires were reported on Monday, including a fast-moving fire at Nancy Lake off Buckingham Palace Road, south of Mile 66.5 Parks Hwy., reported about 6:30 p.m. There was no road access, but firefighters were able to reach the scene on foot. Firefighters held the fire to about an acre, citing an aggressive initial attack and the efficient use of helicopter water bucket drops.

It appears that blaze started as the result of a campfire left burning, although, like the others, the official word on the fire's origin hasn't been stated.

&#8220You don't look at the obvious at first,” Buist said. &#8220When you go in to investigate a fire, you start with a list of everything that can cause a fire and eliminate them one by one until you get to the one that could be the cause. When fires start close to human habitation, you of course think of all the ways that people can start fires.”

Firefighters responded to other fires in the Valley, including three smoking burn piles reported Monday on Memory Drive, fires at Mill Site south of Wasilla, on Necia Road reported May 28, and at Flat Horn Lake reported May 22.

Three fires on Birchenstrap Drive each burned about one-tenth of an acre, all reported on Sunday, and were considered out as of 5:40 p.m. Monday.

Dawson emphasized that the fire suspension still is in place, which includes burn barrels.

&#8220We've had a lot of fires jump from burn barrels,” Dawson said. &#8220I went out yesterday and took a look. It's scary what can happen, especially with the fuels in this area.”

Contact Mary Ames at 352-2284 or mary.ames@frontiersman.com.