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A grass fire burned over eight acres Wednesday on Woody Island. Nick Sandin photo
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A
potentially dangerous wildland fire was put out after burning a few hours Wednesday on Woody Island, about a mile offshore from Kodiak City. Kodiak Fire
Chief Rome Kamai responded via helicopter with an assistant chief from the
Coast Guard. He said a signal flare demonstration went wrong and caused the
blaze.
-- (Woody Fire
1 35 sec "That is my understanding ... for it
to take off.")
The fifth
grade students Chief Kamai mentioned were from Petersen elementary School. He
said they were not in danger:
-- (Woody Fire
2 20 sec "My understanding was ... get them
off the island.")
Charlie
Madsen owns a cabin on Woody Island, and he said the Camp Woody director, the
adults with the Petersen students, along with Saint Innocent Academy students
who came over from town, formed a bucket brigade to help put out the fire.
Madsen said the family cabin is fine and everything turned out OK.
Kamai said
firefighting efforts were helped when the fire came upon natural and manmade barriers.
-- (Woody Fire
3 24 sec "Having looked at it from ... a
firebreak, basically.")
State
Division of Forestry spokesman Bud Sexton in Soldotna said a team of eight
smoke jumpers from Fairbanks flew down to Kodiak yesterday evening and were
taken to Woody Island by the Coast Guard. He said four of them worked all night
ensuring the fire was completely out. They departed Kodiak at about 11 o'clock
this morning.
He said the
fire, on a combination of private and Native corporation land, officially
measured 8.2 acres.
Smoke could
easily be seen from town, as the wind, gusting over 25 mph, whipped up the
flames. Kamai said conditions are ripe for wild fire, with a recent lack of
rain, plants not green up yet, and brisk winds:
Sexton says
fire danger is still high, and an open burn ban remains in effect for Kodiak
Island and the Kenai Peninsula.
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