One way to cool down

ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman

Smoke continues to rise from a car as a Central Mat-Su firefighter sprays the engine compartment Thursday morning at the corner of the Parks and Palmer-Wasilla highways. The driver, Anchorage resident William Phillips, said the car began to smell of gas and then the engine made a loud boom. Phillips said the car belongs to his mother and that a family friend had recently been working on it. Phillips was able to retrieve some gifts he had bought for his son from the burning vehicle.