ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A state fire official says a spark from campfire that wasn’t properly built was the cause of a 21-acre fire burning in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Alaska Division of Forestry Fire Management Officer Norm McDonald tells KTUU (https://is.gd/yn6CY0) the campfire didn’t have a required barrier like a ring of rocks around it to keep it separate from nearby elements.
The fire started late Wednesday night in the Butte area near Palmer. Firefighters and water being dropped from a helicopter helped keep the blaze from spreading Thursday. The fire was 75 percent contained as of late Thursday, and officials hoped to extinguish it Friday.
The fire had burned as close as three-fourths of a mile to one home Thursday. Smoke and haze from the fire spread from Butte to Palmer.
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Information from: KTUU-TV, https://www.ktuu.com
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