Fires tax responders

WASILLA — Wind-driven wildfires are keeping Valley firefighters busy from Meadow Lakes to Palmer, fighting fires in winter conditions they’re not used to at an unprecedented time of year.

“Six new fires started and spread into the wildlands on Thursday in the Matanuska Valley. The fire starts varied — a vehicle, a burn barrel, a burn pile, a power line and two structure fires. The current conditions are such that, no matter what the source, it only takes a spark to start a wildland fire,” the state’s Division of Forestry wrote on Friday.

Dangerous conditions include the lack of snowpack, dry grass and high winds that fan old fires back to life and spread them at astonishing speeds.

The press release’s tally of six wildfires doesn’t count new starts on Friday and Saturday. Reached Saturday afternoon, forestry’s Mat-Su Fire Management Officer Norm McDonald said the number of fires had climbed to nine or 10. And very few have been people burning in violation of the ban.

“Most people have been pretty cooperative. I think with the winds they’ve realized it hasn’t been a good idea,” he said.

But as he was saying that, firefighters were paged out to a burn pile on Knik-Goose Bay Road. Around a half-dozen acres burned Friday night in the wooded lot between The Home Depot and Valley Native Primary Care Center.

McDonald said one started in a homeless camp. He said he believed just one homeless person was living back there and had made it out OK.

The most dramatic incidence was Thursday when more than 100 acres burned behind the Cedar Hills subdivision in Palmer, prompting more than 100 people to evacuate their homes. That evening, homeowners with identification were allowed back in to the area. By Friday, the city of Palmer had announced that fire was out, save for some hot spots firefighters were watching.

Forestry also issued a Red Flag warning banning all types of burning until 4 p.m., Saturday.

“Residents are asked to use diligence in preventing fires. Call 911 to report new starts. Open burning, burning in burn barrels and any other activity that involves fire or could create sparks is discouraged under the current and forecasted conditions. Motorists are asked to look out for wildland firefighters and other emergency responders that are responding to wildland fires. Please slow down and make sure headlights are on when passing firefighters on the road,” forestry reports.

McDonald would add to that list of advice to check and re-check old burns. Even if you haven’t burned for weeks, check to make sure the ashes are stone cold.

“We’ve had some where people thought they were out,” he said.

Fighting fires at this time of year has been, to say the least, difficult for forestry. The division’s Palmer office had been operating on a skeleton crew since the end of the summer. Firefighters had to be called in from Fairbanks and Glennallen.

Their gear — all of it, from the clothing they wear to the water pumps on their trucks — is designed for summer use.

“The water-handling has all been supplied by the borough, our engines aren’t designed for the weather,” McDonald said.

Hoses have been freezing to the ground and responders can’t do anything but come back for them later, McDonald said, adding that some departments are running low on hose supplies.

“It’s definitely a challenge,” he said.

It’s also unprecedented, McDonald said. The closest thing he said he remembers to these circumstances was almost a decade ago in March when there were some wind-driven fires. The weather was cold then, too.

“December, November is unheard of for us,” he said.

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