Pair of weekend house fires keeps Mat-Su Borough firefighters hopping

WASILLA — A pair of weekend house fires injured no one, authorities said.

The first fire happened about 5:30 p.m. Friday evening at a two-story wood-frame residence along West Hidden Ranch Drive, according to Department of Emergency Services deputy director Clint Vardeman. Neither residents nor firefighters were injured in the fire, which drew tanker responses from firehouses ranging from Palmer to Houston.

That fire, which started in a garage and grew into a second-story residence, was extinguished by about 9 p.m., Vardeman said.

A second blaze at a mobile home along West Garten Drive left homeless a father and three children between the ages of three and seven, Vardeman said.

Red Cross officials responded to both fires, and firefighters had not evaluated the condition of either structure Monday.

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-Frontiersman staff