Valley man perishes, fire consumes Big Lake home

MAT-SU -- A Big Lake man died Friday night as the result of a house fire following a rash of residential fires that has kept fire crews busy during recent weeks. Fire crews responded to seven fires in the Valley in the last two months, all resulting in total losses.

"It's somewhat of a coincidence that they all happened so close together," said Central Mat-Su Fire Chief Jack Krill Friday afternoon. "We've had a relatively quiet winter and then this past week, we've been exceptionally busy."

On Friday night, emergency crews responded to a house fire on Rochella Place off Beaver Lake Road in Big Lake. The home is reportedly owned by Donald Mikkelson, 56, who is thought to have died in the fire.

According to Alaska State Trooper reports, the State Medical Examiner's office is determining the identity of the body found inside the house. The cause of the fire so far is accidental, according to trooper reports.

Firefighters responded to the fire at 11:35 p.m. and found the home fully engulfed upon arrival. They were able to get the fire under control just past midnight, according to reports. Around 2 a.m. crews entered the building and found the remains of a man.

Prior to Friday night's fire, there had only been one fatality this winter in the Valley, which occurred in December. A 40-year-old woman died in a Fox Run trailer park fire at that time.

The fire Friday night followed a series of fire losses in Mat-Su.

A Friday morning fire off Knik-Goose Bay Road is believed to have been arson, Krill said. A 10-foot by 10-foot abandoned cabin alongside the road went up in flames.

Four-wheeler tracks circled the cabin, causing Krill to believe some kids may be involved in setting that fire. "We're still looking for the owners of the property by looking through borough property records," he said.

Another fire early Friday morning took down a commercial building behind the Veteran of Foreign Wars (VFW) building at 261 E. Park Ave in Wasilla.

That was a two-story log building previously used by Valley Appraisal and Real Estate Analysis. The 1,800-square-foot structure had been empty for three months but was to be rented to another firm. At 1:39 a.m., a passerby reportedly noticed it was on fire and called it in.

Damage there was estimated at $82,000. The fire is still under investigation.

On Wednesday, a fire consumed several trailers and vehicles off Bogard Road at 660 E. Pike Street. That fire apparently originated in a travel trailer parked inside a 20-foot by 30-foot foot awning structure.

"The occupant of the travel trailer said he left for school that morning after stoking the coal stove," Krill said. "He came home and found a fire on the wood floor in front of the stove."

The resident attempted to put the fire out and called 911. When he stepped outside for fresh air, the entire structure went up in flames and spread to a car, a truck, a tractor, a trailer used for storage and another trailer that was being rebuilt. That trailer had fire damage from a November fire and no one was living in it at the time, Krill said.

"All of the structures were close together, so it spread pretty quickly, he said.

Another fire sent a Willow home up in flames Tuesday and resulted in a total loss. The fire off Pope Road was reported at 5:45 p.m., by neighbors who smelled smoke. It is believed to be a recreational cabin that was not inhabited at the time of the fire.

A fire the evening of March 3 off Hollywood Boulevard in Wasilla consumed a mobile home, lean-to and building attached to it. The owner apparently had been thawing frozen pipes, Krill said, and was getting ready to rent it out after the home had been empty for a year or more.

"He was using an electrical heater to thaw the pipes and there apparently was a short in the electrical cord," Krill said. "The owner lives about 500 yards away. He noticed the flames coming from the back of the building and by the time we arrived it was a fully evolved fire."

Last month two Valley homes went up in flames.

A fire consumed a two-story house on Soapstone Road outside Palmer Feb. 6. No one was injured, but the Jack Ouzts family reportedly lost one cat and an 18-inch lizard, along with all of their belongings, inside the home.

At about 1:30 p.m., the Palmer Fire Department responded to the home. The roof and floor were gone by the time crews arrived, said Dan Contini, Palmer fire chief.

Contini said the house was back from the road and had apparently been burning for a while -- it was not easily seen from the road.

Two weeks later, on Feb. 25, fire crews responded to a fire on Danielson Avenue in Sutton, and were able to get the it under control before the structure was completely consumed. The structure was a mobile home attached to a cabin and was reportedly uninhabited at the time. The homeowners, Patsy and Bob Coyne of Wasilla, were preparing to rent it out, according to Sutton Fire Chief Chuck Carver.

A neighbor reported the house was on fire after he heard a loud popping noise and stepped outside to look, Carver said. The volunteer fire department responded immediately, and were able to contain the fire.

At the time, Carver said the fire appeared to have been accidental. The home was heated to keep pipes from freezing, Carver said, and a propane leak was a possible cause.

Krill said fires can often be prevented by solving house-keeping problems such as placing too many papers close to a heating source and improperly using extension cords or using damaged cords. Krill suggested checking to make sure extension cords are in good condition, not overloading sockets and using common sense.