Sockeye fire

Sockeye Fire
Location	Willow Matanuska-Susitna Borough  Alaska  United States
Statistics
Date(s)	June 14, 2015 to present
Burned area	12 square miles (7,700 acres)
Cause	Unspecified human activity
Land use	Residential Forest reserves
Buildings destroyed	99 55 homes destroyed 44 additional properties suffered fire damage to other buildings[1]
Injuries	4[2]
Fatalities	0

The 2015 Sockeye Fire was a wildfire that occurred near Willow, in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough area of the US state of Alaska. The fire received its name because its origin was traced to Sockeye Avenue, in Willow. The fire forced the closure of the George Parks Highway near the fire, closing the primary road link between Anchorage and Fairbanks. The Glenn and Richardson Highways were not affected. Mandatory evacuations were ordered for residents and visitors between Milepost 69 and 77 of the highway.^[3] Authorities urged the residents of Willow to evacuate, utilizing the Emergency Alert System throughout the afternoon of June 14 as the fire spread and intensified. By the end of day on June 14, the fire had consumed 4,183 acres,^[4] and had grown to over 6,500 acres the following morning.^[5] Alaska Governor Bill Walker declared a state of emergency for the area the next day.^[6] As of 23 June, the fires size is reported to be 7,220 acres.^[7]

Authorities requested help from fire crews throughout Alaska, as well as from emergency agencies in the contiguous United States. The Anchorage Fire Department, Alaska's largest, sent a task force of personnel and emergency vehicles.^[8]

As of October 2015, 5.1 million acres have burned in Alaska, compared to about 600,000 in a typical year. It is expected that wildfires will burn almost 10 million acres and 3,000 homes, putting 2015 on pace to be the worst US fire season on record by year’s end.^[9]

Fire

The fire was discovered as a 2-acre blaze on June 14, after a local resident called 9-1-1 to report heavy smoke in a heavily wooded area near Willow, along the Parks Highway. Dry conditions in the area along with the prevailing winds caused the fire to quickly spread. By the morning of Monday, June 15, the fire had grown to over 6,500 acres, and had destroyed 40–45 structures, roughly half of which were primary homes occupied by local residents, with the other half being described as "secondary structures". Local schools and churches were used as emergency shelters.^[5] In addition to Willow, air quality has been affected in the communities of Nancy Lake, Houston, and Big Lake.^[10]

The Sockeye Fire has impacted the sled dog teams living in the area, with as many as 4,500 dogs moved away from the impacted areas. Other sled dogs, owned by local participants of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and other mushing events, perished in the fire. A local kennel owned by veteran Iditarod musher DeeDee Jonrowe was destroyed. Jonrowe also lost her home, several pets and a flock of chickens in the fire.^[11] At least six dogs are known to have perished in the fire.^[12]

Evacuations

By June 15, areas under mandatory or voluntary evacuation had been expanded to include the areas between Milepost 63 and 77 of the George Parks Highway. Areas between the highway and the Susitna River in the fires vicinity were also evacuated.^[13]

Cause

Early on during the incident, emergency officials determined that the fire was "human caused".^[14]

On July 13, 2015 it was reported by multiple news sources in Alaska that Greg Imig and Amy Dewitt of Anchorage faced numerous charges in relation to the Sockeye Fire, including reckless endangerment, criminally negligent burning, and allowing a fire to spread.^[15][16] The newly engaged couple were reportedly vacationing at a cabin Dewitt owned. On the evening of June 13, they reportedly ignited several burn piles and failed to ensure that they were properly extinguished before retiring for the evening. The following afternoon reports came in to local authorities of a fire near their cabin, including a 911 call Dewitt herself made, though she reportedly did not offer any identifying details to the operator, including the specific address of the fire. The couple later admitted to investigators that they then quickly fled the cabin, leaving behind numerous items out in the open.

References