So far, so good

MAT-SU — A boat collision, a handful of drunken drivers and a smattering of wildfires were the main consequences of this year’s Memorial Day weekend revelries.

Considering that as of Monday afternoon no law enforcement agency had reported any major car wrecks or ATV rollovers, all in all it was a relatively quiet three-day weekend.

“We had a fatal on the (Kenai) Peninsula, but in the Valley it’s been pretty calm, dare I say,” said Alaska State Trooper Spokeswoman Megan Peters.

By far the most serious incident came at around 1:45 p.m. Saturday on the Deshka River when two boats collided, ejecting a 2-year-old from the wreckage.

Bobbie Houser, 54, of Chugiak, was driving a 2000 Harborcraft and Joshua R. Lebhart, 28, was driving a 2004 Phantom Sport when the two boats collided in what troopers described as “an angle head-on collision.”

Troopers said that of the seven people involved, six were hurt, but none suffered life-threatening injuries. The 2-year-old was quickly pulled out of the water after being ejected. One of the passengers in the Harborcraft was airlifted from the scene.

Troopers don’t believe alcohol played a role in the crash. Peters said they believe four out of seven passengers were not wearing life jackets.

In light of that, she said, the accident “could have been a lot worse.”

Troopers estimate damage to the boats at more than $10,000. Peters said troopers don’t generally assign fault in boat accidents. Boat travel, she said, is much different than highway travel.

“There’s no clear rules,” Peters said. “There are rules that people abide by, but they’re not set in stone.”

As far as other weekend activities go, as of Monday afternoon troopers had reported nabbing five suspected drunken drivers, one of which, on Williwaw Way in Wasilla, they described as a man “causing a disturbance” on an ATV. Of the other four, two were in the Big Lake area, the other two were in the Willow area, at Mile 74 and 64 of the Parks Highway respectively.

As of Monday afternoon, the only car accident troopers had reported was a two-car collision at Knik-Goose Bay Road and Clapp Street involving a Dodge Neon and a Ford Focus. The accident was reported at 6:15 p.m. Sunday.

Over on the firefighting side of things, the state’s Division of Forestry reported three fires fought this weekend in the Valley, two of which were logged as 0.1 acres or less in size.

The third and most serious was a 2.1-acre brush fire that started Sunday in the Fishhook area, threatening the tree line. Forestry and borough firefighters had it suppressed by the end of the day.

A large fire near Chugiak kept Valley-based crews busy for much of the weekend. As of press time, news of the fire was still trickling in from Forestry’s public information office. The fire had apparently grown to 300 acres and gusty winds were hampering firefighting efforts.

As of Monday afternoon, Forestry had not lifted a weekend-long suspension on fires other than campfires in approved enclosures. The division warns that fire danger is very high to extreme in all of Southcentral Alaska and that anyone lighting a campfire should make sure to have plenty of water on hand and not to start fires in windy conditions.

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