Fire guts Big Lake home

BIG LAKE — Fire destroyed a small home behind a downtown greenhouse Monday, drawing firefighters and trucks from across the northwestern Valley.

Jim Carnahan oversaw operations on scene as assistant chief of the West Lakes Fire Department. He said passersby began reporting the fire early in the afternoon.

At about the same time, he said, pointing across the street, “Our people that were here in the station saw it.”

Carnahan said it was fortunate that fire trucks were stationed right across the street, but “I wish they would’ve seen it sooner.”

The first firefighter on scene reported explosions and said flames were spreading into the woods. Carnahan said he talked to the property owner later and discovered the source of those explosions.

“Apparently, he had some aerosol cans and they were lighting off and launching into the woods,” he said.

Those rocketing cans in turn touched off spot fires that wildland firefighting crews had to douse.

The fire did not spread far into the woods.

Carnahan said he had help on the fire from the Central Mat-Su, Houston and Willow fire departments, as well as the state Division of Forestry, which sent out firefighters and a helicopter. The fire took about 30 minutes to get under control.

The property belongs to the same people who own the adjacent Lakesway Greenhouse. The fire did not spread to the greenhouse, Carnahan said, but the home was a complete loss.

Acrid smoke blanketed the downtown Big Lake area for most of the afternoon. Carnahan said the homeowner told him he’d kept most of his chemical products in an outbuilding not affected by the fire.

The fire came at a hectic time for borough firefighters. The start of summer can bring almost daily wildfires, running crews ragged until the trees and grass turn green again. Carnahan describes it as “controlled chaos.”

Emergency band radios Monday afternoon reported at least three wildfires that drew responses. Firefighters in Mat-Su tend to err on caution and send responders to many resources to a wildfire rather than not enough, since risk is so great of fire endangering homes and buildings.

The state keeps a running tally of wildfires. So far this spring there have been 161 statewide, with 1,924 acres burned. The Mat-Su/Anchorage region accounts for 26 of those blazes, the bulk of them in Mat-Su. Division of Forestry reported last week that every one of those fires were human-caused.

The latest fire the division had reported began at around 8:30 p.m., Sunday off of Maud Road. It burned less than an acre on a hillside above Jim Lake.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.