Fires flare from dry conditions

WASILLA — It didn’t take long for the fire on Topaze Road to get going.

The neighborhood is in the subdivisions off Pitt man Road near Mile 3. A neighbor called in to say she saw smoke. Then flames. Firefighters’ initial size-up reported that a pickup was burning. But it didn’t stop there.

On scene shortly after 1 p.m., with the fire basically extinguished, Steve Barenburg, Assistant Chief with the West Lakes Fire Department, sized up the situation.

“We had a grass fire that ended up involving two sheds and two vehicles as well as 55-gallon drums of unknown substances,” Barenburg said.

Also burned was a about a dozen tires. The smoke and heat blackened the stand of trees the tires were under.

“When tires burn, it takes forever to put them out,” Barenburg said as he watched crews hose down hot spots.

Fire season is upon us

This season’s hot, dry start has been keeping firefighters busy. The Topaze Road fire, which eventually burned about a half of an acre, was just one of a half dozen firefighters have doused over the past week in the Valley.

In a press release dated Tuesday, the state’s Division of Forestry noted three wildfires put out that day:

• A one-acre fire on Lazy Mountain. Borough and Forestry firefighters tamped that one down with help from a helicopter diverted from a blaze on Dearmon Road in Anchorage.

• A fire on the airstrip at the end of Knik-Goose Bay Road that started in a vehicle but moved into the surrounding wildlands.

• A fire at 5 p.m. off Mile 39 Glenn Highway that burned a half an acre and was moving along the ground when crews arrived.

A Wednesday press release cited two more fires — the one on Topaze and another half-acre fire at about 5 p.m. on Rue D’ LaPax Road near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine roads.

Forestry’s helicopter flew over the Topaze fire and then responded to another fire call, which ended up being a different report of the same fire. The column of black smoke was visible from downtown Wasilla.

No burn permits

Starting Tuesday Forestry suspended burn permits in the area, prohibiting open burning. Burn barrels were included in the ban. Fire danger, officials said, was very high.

That ban was in effect as of Thursday afternoon, with Forestry predicting little change in the fire-prone weather conditions.

“Valley residents are advised to recheck all their old burn piles lit this spring for smoldering embers and to make sure they are completely out. Residents are asked to practice all caution, and be vigilant,” the press release stated.

Though campfires and cooking fires are still allowed, the division urges extreme caution with “any open flame.”

Forestry also reported this week that they had ticketed Richard A. Smith for negligence.

Forestry officials say Smith started the first significant Valley wildfire of the season that burned nine and a half acres in the neighborhoods off Knik-Goose Bay Road at around Mile 10. The fire burned May 8.

“A burning ember escaped the barrel and ignited nearby dead/dry grass. In a matter of a minute after the land-owner turned his back and walked away from the barrel, winds increased and blew embers out of the barrel,” Forestry said in a press release.

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