Vandals burn Little Su fee station

EOWYN LeMAY IVEY-Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- Vandals hit Alaska State Parks where it counts, burning down a fee booth at one of the busiest parks in Southcentral Alaska just as the king salmon run gets under way.

Monday around 3 a.m. someone set fire to the fee station at the Little Susitna Public Use Facility, a campground and boat launch located in the Point MacKenzie area. The booth was burned to the ground with all of its contents, including a safe, radio equipment and other miscellaneous office supplies. Park officials are calling it a total loss and estimating the damage at around $10,000. By Tuesday morning, park officials had removed the remaining debris.

"There's nothing there now but a scorched area on the ground," said Dennis Heikes, Mat-Su area superintendent for Alaska State Parks.

The vandals also apparently tried to break into the "iron ranger," the metal box where people deposit fees and self-register for camping and boat launching. Heikes said it appeared someone tried to use a cutting torch to access the money and instead set the contents on fire.

Heikes said it is unclear if the vandals were trying to use the cutting torch to break into the safe in the fee booth when the building caught fire, or if they set the fire after attempting to steal the contents of the safe. Heikes would not say how much money was destroyed, but he did say park officials are careful to regularly remove money from the fee station.

The booth was located about a half-mile from the campground, out of sight of campers and the campground host, but Heikes said Alaska State Troopers and park rangers do have some leads and are following up on them.

"If anybody saw anything suspicious around 3 a.m. Monday morning out there, they could give us a call," Heikes said. People can contact either the Alaska State Troopers at 745-2131, or Alaska State Parks at 745-3975.

The fire is the latest in a rash of theft and vandalism at the park. Someone broke into the fee booth the weekend before, stealing an American flag, clothing that belonged to an employee and other miscellaneous office supplies, according to Heikes. It appeared they also tried to break into the safe but failed.

Other thefts at the campground, including fishing gear, have also been recently reported.

As the investigation into Monday's fire continues, Alaska State Parks is hustling to get the fee booth rebuilt and relocated closer to the campground where it might not be as vulnerable to break-ins and vandalism.

The fire comes just as the king salmon are returning to the popular fishery, and the peak of the season is just around the corner. Monday morning just after the fire, Heikes said around 40 vehicles were parked at the boat launch and another 20 to 30 at the campground.

"This is before the kings have really started showing up in big numbers," Heikes said. "It's certainly not the peak, and it will be building in the next week or two."

Heikes said state parks is putting out a bid for materials and is coordinating with the Department of Corrections' facility at Point MacKenzie for assistance with the carpentry and other labor.

"We're working to get a fee both back out there as quickly as we can," Heikes said. "I would like to have something there by Friday evening, but it's looking more and more like we'll not be able to do it by then."

In the meantime, Heikes said, booth attendants will be stationed at the site where the fee booth used to be, handing out envelopes and assisting people in self-registering.

Little Susitna Public Use Facility is owned by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game but managed by contract by Alaska State Parks.