On Tuesday night, another small forest fire occurred in urban Anchorage, and it was only by luck that it was contained quickly. This one was in a homeless encampment behind the Monster Wash and Walgreens Drug Store on West Dimond Blvd. The Campbell Creek trail and greenbelt is on the other side of where the fire occurred.
An off-duty member of the mayor’s staff spotted the smoke, then saw flames, and called 911. Crews arrived within minutes and contained the blaze, preventing it form spreading to homes and businesses in the area.
“I cannot express my gratitude enough to the men and women at our fire department who are doing double times these days with the hot & dry weather. Folks, if you see smoke around town call 911 and alert authorities. If you see illegal camps, report those ASAP, so we can abate them and prevent further fires from starting,” the mayor said.
Anchorage is experiencing hot, dry weather that is expected to continue for several days. In the past week, there have been at least 40 fires reported in Anchorage. They have not all been in homeless camps, but the mayor’s office said several of them have been in illegal encampments.
