Fire torches Meadow Lakes home

UPDATE — 10:25 a.m. Tuesday:

MEADOW LAKES — A two-story home on Cloudy Lake in the Meadow Lakes area was a total loss after one of two Valley house fires Monday evening, according to Mat-Su Borough officials.

The first report came in around 3:30 p.m. that flames were visible coming from the roof of a home located on Coal Road. Firefighters said they were hampered by a tanker truck getting stuck in the narrow driveway, which forced them to draw water from the nearby lake via hoses.

The driveway bottleneck also hampered early efforts to bring the fire under control because firefighters weren't able to get enough water on the fire quickly enough, said West Lakes fire chief John Fairchild.

One of the department's larger apparatus was able to make it through, with minor scrapes, but the second became stuck near the driveway’s mouth.

“Tell people to make sure they make enough room for a truck to get in and out of their driveways,” he said, early in the fire’s progression. “That is killing us right now.”

At several points while fighting the blaze, firefighters paused to bring in more water in tanker trucks, until the lake source was established.

Officials briefly considered using heavy equipment to knock down the remaining portions of the structure after most of the house had already burned.

There were no injuries reported in the fire, which was declared out at around 6:45 p.m.

According to Mat-Su Borough property records, the lakeside home had an appraised value of $467,500 in 2015.

Officials paged the Red Cross to the scene to help six adults displaced by the fire.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the state fire marshal.

The second fire was reported at 5:43 p.m., less than seven miles to the southwest on South Simms Road in the Big Lake area. According to Mat-Su Borough public affairs director Patty Sullivan, a neighbor called 911 to report flames at the front door of the home, which was being remodeled at the time. Houston Fire Department was the first on the scene and was able to confine the fire to the home’s front door.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an unattended generator on the front porch. Sullivan said the home sustained minimal damage.