Jim Creek fire consumes 80 acres

BUTTE — A wildfire that’s consumed about 80 acres near Jim Creek has been 75 percent contained, the state’s Division of Forestry reports.

The blaze, which was sparked over the weekend, grew quickly and Forestry firefighters and the Pioneer Peak hotshot crew were called in to fight the fire. The fire is burning southeast of Jim Creek’s confluence with the Knik River, near Friday Creek.

Nearly 10 forestry firefighters have been working the fire, supported by two Butte Fire Department firefighters, Forestry spokesman Glen Holt said. Crews have been putting out fires along its perimeter and have extinguished a 2-acre spot fire the blaze touched off outside the fireline.

Holt said Thursday that the exact cause of the fire has not been determined, but it appears to have been human-caused.

“It’s just the regular nonsense, somebody started a fire and walked away from it or tossed a hot ember from a cigarette or something,” Holt said.

Investigators were heading to the area Thursday to try and nail down a cause, he said. “This had the potential to really get ripping.”

Holt described the fire as moving mostly through grass and brush and torching off spruce, both alive and dead. The blaze never threatened structures, but burned in an area that has been hard to access.

Forestry made use of a tracked Butte Fire Department Argo to access the wildfire, which Holt said has been a great asset.

“It’ll float, whereas [forestry’s] Bombardier won’t float,” he said.

The fire is the largest of the season locally so far and the second in the area within a week. Last week, fire from a burn pile climbed up the side of Bodenburg Butte.

Holt said Butte and Palmer are typically the first areas of activity in the spring fire season, but this season has started earlier than normal. With the snow gone and patches of dry grass visible, the time seems ripe for wildfires, he said. Emergency radios in the Valley have lately been crackling with reports of burn piles unattended or out of control.

One such fire was Wednesday in the area of Smith and Maud Roads, Holt said. That touched off grass and ran to a neighbor’s yard.

Holt said the man who set the burn pile ablaze had wandered back inside his house. Wind pushed the fire into the grass and the flames started threatening his neighbor’s home. His neighbors saw the fire, began tamping out grass and called the man’s son in Oregon. The son called his father and told him, “Hey dad, you better look out the window.”

Holt said Forestry issued the man a ticket for letting the burn get out of control. It’s his second in two years.

“We don’t know whether it will go to court yet, but the guy is in hot water,” Holt said.

It’s another lesson in safe burning.

This time of year, Holt said folks should be careful before lighting a burn pile, making sure to pay attention to the wind and keep shovels and water on hand.

When a fire is out, make sure it’s completely out and continue to watch it closely, Holt said.

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