Fire resource listing

MAT-SU — Things are changing fast with the Sockeye Fire in Willow. Here are some resources to help find information about everything fire related — from air quality and road closures to flight restrictions and information about campground closures.

Airplane tie downs available

Palmer Municipal Airport Manager Jeff Combs has announced that the Airport has approximately 50 temporary tie downs spots available at the Airport for plane owners affected by the fire. For more information, call Jeff at 761-1324 or 863-5742.

Air quality advisories

Air quality advisories are online at 1.usa.gov/1jhCLaM, more information at dec.alaska.gov/air.

Burn permits suspended

Forestry is asking the public not to light any fires, event cooking or warming fires until further notice. For more information, visit 1.usa.gov/1j3XFdr.

Campgrounds closed

Willow and Nancy Lake area campgrounds — Willow Creek, South Rolly, and Nancy Lake — are currently evacuated and closed due to the fire. If you have questions about a public use cabin you rented in the area, contact 907-269-8400.

Contact numbers

• Evacuation hotline, 861-8500

• Recorded incident hotline, 761-3700

• Forestry, 761-6233

• Questions about the Sockeye Fire, 861-8326

• Forestry fire information (907) 356-5511

Dog and horse boarding

• Happy Trails Kennel, 19391 W Lakes Blvd., is offering horse and dog boarding — (907) 892-7899.

• Lynda Plettner, 12528 Hawk Ln., Mile 53, Parks Highway is taking evacuated horses and ponies, including stallions and foals. Call Heather Jewell at 355-1967.

• Scott Janssen has volunteered his place (the Janssen Mat-Su Funeral home on the Parks Highway near Trunk Road for people and animals, 907-279-5477.

Donations for dogs

Alaska Dog and Puppy and VCA Big Lake Animal Hospital are accepting donations for dogs through their Facebook pages.

Facebook group

A Facebook group called “Sockeye Willow Fire Pet and Home Resource Finder” has been established to share news and resources about the fire.

Internet resources

• akfireinfo.com

• fire.ak.blm.gov

• 1.usa.gov/1Lc5KzG

• weather.gov/Alaska

• matsugov.us

Hashtag

Search and post information about the fire on social media using the hashtag #SockeyeFire.

Help kennels rebuild

The Willow area is home to several sled dog kennels, some of which were destroyed or evacuated in the Sockeye Fire. An estimated 400 to 500 dogs were moved out of the fire area in the first hours of the burn.

Two crowd-source funding pages have been created to help the kennels rebuild.

Donate online to a Gofundme page to “Help Our Mushers Rebuild Dog Lots, at gofundme.com/x22v98, or to the Willow Dog Mushers Association page “Help Willow Mushers Rebuild” fund on YouCaring, bit.ly/1FYdqir.

Mushers who have lost their homes and kennels — but save their sled dogs — include Dee Dee Jonrowe, Mary Helwig, Jamie and Justin High and Jan Steves.

Kennels operated by mushers Jenny and Nic Petit, Peter Duncan, Millie Telpin and Joar Leifseth have reported fire damage, but not total loss.

Red Cross of Alaska collection points

• GCI store in Wasilla, 1879 E. Parks Highway, and its Anchorage and Eagle River stores also are accepting Red Cross donations. Items such as clothing, blankets, food, diapers, dog and cat food and other nonperishable items are recommended.

• MY House, 300 Willow St., Wasilla, is accepting donations on behalf of the Red Cross. Donate people food, dry dog food and bottled water.

• If you have donations, but aren’t sure if it can be accepted, call 373-4357.

Red flag warning

There is a Red Flag Warning in effect for the Susitna and Matanuska valleys through 10 p.m., Monday for strong wind and low relative humidity. For more information, visit 1.usa.gov/1GICf5N.

Related Facebook pages

http://m.facebook.com/AK.Forestry

http://m.facebook.com/BLMAFS

http://m.facebook.com/MatSuBorough

http://m.facebook.com/ALASKAIMT

http://m.facebook.com/AnchorageOEM

http://m.facebook.com/AlaskaRedCross

Resources to share

If you have resources to share with those in the path of the fire, or if you need help getting yourself and your animals out of the path of the fire, the Red Cross is collecting a list of those contacts. To add your resources or help needed list, call 1-907-444-7494.

Road closures

Get current road closure information and sign up for email alerts at 511.alaska.gov. The Parks Highway was reopen for emergency traffic Monday morning, but fire near the roadway forced its closure again Monday evening.

Shelters available

Some of the hundreds of people and more pets displaced by the Sockeye Fire have sought refuge in two Red Cross shelters set up at Houston Middle School and on the other side of the fire area at the Upper Susitna Senior Center.

Sunday night 125 people signed in at Upper Susitna Senior Center near Talkeetna, 25 people signed in at Houston Middle School and 24 people were at Willow Community Center, which was relocated to Houston shortly after opening.

For a time Sunday evening, the Willow Baptist Church also opened its doors to evacuees, before the fire pushed south forcing the evacuation area to expand and the shelter to relocate to Houston Middle School. Call the Red Cross Houston Shelter at 1-907-444-7494.

Temporary Flight Restrictions

Temporary Flight Restrictions were put in place over the fire area through July 15 “to provide a safe environment for fire fighting aircraft operations.” Information about the flight restrictions is online at 1.usa.gov/1C9BgX1.