Wind whips up fire, threatens Palmer subdivision

PALMER — High winds blew a grass fire into nearby trees, threatening homes, closing roads and darkening the skies north of town Thursday.

As of 6 p.m., Janette Bower with the city of Palmer said that the fire had not been contained, but officials projected containment by 8 p.m.

The Mat-Su Borough reports that at least one firefighter had been injured. Reports on emergency band radio seemed to indicate a firefighter had what seemed like hypothermia.

Homeowners in the Cedar Hills subdivision — which in short order was surrounded by flames on three sides — were evacuated and directed to the Palmer Senior Center, where the Red Cross has set up a shelter.

Rick Allen said fire was burning just across the street from his home. His neighbor, Officer Bill Rapson of the Wasilla Police Department, was evacuating people when Allen arrived. Rapson told Allen he could go inside, but to be quick.

“It’s a pretty surreal,” Allen said. “If you have five minutes to grab something, what do you grab?”

He chose warm clothes for his kids, medications and the family dog. As of 6:20 p.m., he and his family were safe, staying with his parents elsewhere in the Valley.

The Mat-Su Borough reported just after 5 p.m. that 40 of Allen’s neighbors had sought shelter at the Palmer Senior Center, some of them with pets the borough put up in crates in the center’s garage.

The fire started at 1:53 p.m. when an enclosed trailer being towed by a pickup rolled over. Sparks from the trailer hitting the road touched off a grass fire, which spread into black spruce and other trees, then started threatening the subdivision.

High winds pushed the fire along. The National Weather Service office in Anchorage reports strong winds gusting to nearly 60 mph at the Palmer Airport.

Shortly after 2 p.m., it was described as a fire with “three structures involved, a fast moving grass fire with continuous fuels.” Those included a warehouse and multiple outbuildings. Vehicles also went up in flames.

The fire closed down both Palmer Fishhook Road and the Glenn Highway and grew to encompass a good chunk of Fishhook Golf Course.

Just before the 3 p.m., firefighters on scene were calling for additional help from Chugiak and Anchorage as all available Valley units had already been sent.

“Every department has been called out Valley-wide,” said city of Palmer spokeswoman Janette Bower.

By 8:15 p.m., officials had begun allowing some residents to return to their homes.

Firefighters on scene were from Palmer, the Butte and Central Mat-Su fire departments, as well as the state’s Division of Forestry, Bower said.

A forestry press release says the division had been staffed down since the end of summer and was working with the federal Bureau of Land Management to bring in more firefighters.

For a fire to start this late in the year is, to say the least, unusual. With high winds, low humidity and little to no snowpack covering the ground, state forestry issued a Red Flag Warning — also a rarity for November.

The Mat-Su Borough School District held students who live in Cedar Hills at Palmer High School, Palmer Junior Middle School, and Sherrod and Swanson elementary schools rather than sending them into the subdivision.

Back in May 2011, a late afternoon fire in essentially the same area threatened the same subdivision. Firefighters stopped that one just short of the closest home.

Residents seeking up-to-date information can visit the city’s Facebook page — search for “City of Palmer, Alaska” — or call 761-1315.

The fire was not the only fire Mat-Su Borough responders had to battle Thursday. At 11:43 a.m., they were sent out to a home on Sand Point Drive in the Wasilla-Fishhook Road area, which was completely destroyed.

Multiple firefighters left from there at 12:40 p.m. to head up to a fire on Drowsy Drive and Lazy Lake Drive in Meadow Lakes, which was reported as fully involved.

Still later in the afternoon, a grass fire off of Wilmington Drive in the Schrock Road area burned at least seven acres.

The borough’s deputy emergency services director, Clint Vardeman, said that in each case, weather was not on the borough’s side.

“Especially if it’s in a tight-packed neighborhood, the fear of it spreading to another structure is obviously heightened by this kind of wind,” he said. “The temperature doesn’t help either. In certain areas, it’s cold enough that if you’re not careful you can freeze your water supply.”

The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning in effect until 3 p.m., Friday for the Matanuska Valley. In addition, the Mat-Su Borough has issued an air quality advisory for Palmer until the wind and smoke from the fire subsides.

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