Request for fire aid doused

WASILLA — A mission to send locally stationed fire engines to help beleaguered California firefighters has been scrubbed.

The Mat-Su Borough announced the plan Friday to send four area fire engines, one Chugiak engine and 17 firefighters to California, where state fire crews have been overwhelmed by a record-breaking wildfire season.

Over the weekend, those plans changed.

“Evidently, [the state Division of] Forestry got word late Saturday afternoon, and California had called and they said that the request had been rescinded,” Central Mat-Su Fire Chief James Steele said.

Steele said apparently the situation on the ground changed. California had some changes in the weather that worked in favor of firefighters and a number of private entities stepped up to provide fire engines. That means they don’t need Alaska’s trucks and personnel.

“Some of our guys are a little bummed,” Steele said of the sudden call to action and cancellation. “They were looking forward to going down and helping and just getting some good experience down there.”

Bill Gamble, chief of the Big Lake fire department, is one of those disappointed. Gamble works at his day job for the Federal Aviation Administration. Summer is also the FAA’s busiest time of year. He didn’t think he’d be able to respond to the California call, but his employers came through for him.

“We were jazzed,” he said of himself and his fellow firefighters.

Both Gamble and Steele noted, though, that fire season, at least in California, is not over and they may still be needed.

“There was some feeling that we might get another call,” Steele said. But for now, local firefighters and their trucks will stay home.

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