Explosive Alaska wildfire threatens hundreds of homes, cabins*

POSTED: 2152 GMT (0552 HKT), June 24, 2007

Story Highlights
• Alaska wildfire threatens hundreds of homes
• Fire burning in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula
• Sparks from a grinder being used to sharpen a shovel started the blaze
• The blaze had blackened about 81 square miles

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- With dozens of homes and cabins already
destroyed by wildfire, crews worked Sunday to protect hundreds of others
tucked in the hills of the scenic Kenai Peninsula.

The fire has burgeoned to 81 square miles since Tuesday, consuming 35
far-flung cabins in the Caribou Hills, state fire information officials
said. Forty other structures, including sheds and outhouses, were also
lost in the popular hunting and snowmobiling area about 80 miles south
of Anchorage.

The blaze is carving easily through wide swaths of spruce killed by
beetles, and crews are finding it hard to maneuver in the warren of
footpaths and gravel roads crisscrossing the hills, said fire
information officer Elaine Hall.

The fire threatens another 600 residences and cabins, Hall said. An
evacuation order has been in effect since Friday, but fire officials
said an unknown number of residents have refused to budge.

"Some folks stayed to protect their houses when they were supposed to
evacuate, but we haven't heard about anyone being hurt so far," said Bob
Evenson, a fire volunteer.

Crews were trying to take advantage of light rain early Sunday, building
a series of fire breaks on the western and northwestern flanks of the
fire. Cool, cloudy weather, with highs in the low 60s, is expected for
Monday, but winds up to 25 mph could raise the fire's momentum, said Sam
Albanese, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Many of the homes in the area are used only seasonally.

Nearly 400 firefighting personnel from around Alaska and the lower 48
states have arrived throughout the week, according to the Alaska
Interagency Management Team.

The blaze began when sparks from a grinder used to sharpen a shovel fell
into dry grass.

Evenson said the 16-by-16-foot winter cabin he built with his brothers
nearly 30 years ago has probably been destroyed. He had removed
everything but a cook stove and a wood stove because bears sometimes
explore the unlocked plywood building when no one is around.

"We're over the point of worry, and there's nothing we can do about it
right now," Evenson said. "The sad part about losing all the cabins is
it's a good place to take the family."

Smaller fires are also burning in the Mat-Su Valley a few dozen miles
north of Anchorage.

Alaska's fire season is just getting started. The worst recorded season
was 2004, when fires consumed a total of 6.6 million acres, or 10,312
square miles.

In Montana, higher humidity and a change in fuels slowed the progress of
a wildfire in the Lewis and Clark National Forest. It moved from heavy
timber into a brushier area and continued to burn away from six
structures, a mix of commercial property and vacation homes, fire
officials said. The fire was not contained.