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Sunday, September 1, 2019
Peninsula Clarion
Faces From Page A1
When asked what it was like to live and work from a tent in the spike camp, Munk didn’t have any complaints. “Oh it’s great. This is my office — the outdoors. I love it,” Munk said. “We got hot coffee and plenty of food. We’re living good.” Munk said that he is thankful for the support that he and his team have received from the community and is glad to do is part. “I’m just happy to be out here helping out and being part of the solution,” Munk said. Not all the firefighters are from the Lower 48. Victor Williams, for example, makes his home in Ruby, Alaska. Williams said that he spends most of his time doing construction work, but he quickly answered the call when they asked him to join the fight. “They needed firefighters, so here I am,” Williams said. When asked what it was like at the spike camp, Williams was more candid than most. “ … cold,” Williams said. Williams added that Friday morning was the warmest it had been at the camp since he arrived. Williams and the other firefighters are on the clock for 16 hours at a time, with about 12 to 14 of those hours spent directly on the line. Williams said that they pretty much go right to bed after a day out on the line. “You can’t complain about it — it ain’t gonna help or make it go by any faster,” Williams said. “I just came out here to do what I get paid for.” Glen Kameroff is also an Alaska firefighter and is the crew boss for the Upper Kalskag crew. Kameroff said that he and his crew have been working along Skilak Lake Road finding hot spots and clearing trees that need to be knocked down. For Kameroff, the safety of his crew is always his No. 1 priority. “A lot of the trees, the roots have
League of Women Voters candidate forum Are you prepared to vote in the borough election on Oct. 1? Do you know the candidates? The League of Women Voters invites you to attend their candidate forum Sept. 19 from 6-8 p.m. in the borough assembly chambers in Soldotna. Come meet the candidates running for assembly and school board. Following the round of questions, members of the public and press will have an opportunity to ask questions. Be an informed informed voter. This is sponsored by the League of Women Voters, an
Rains From Page A1
was diminished in the afternoon by smoke and cloud cover. Structure protection groups and local fire department personnel continued
been burnt out so it’s pretty hazardous for the crews, but I keep a sharp eye on them,” Kameroff said. “Any time the winds pick up, I pull my crew out of the area. I don’t want anything falling on them.” Friday was the sixth day on the line for Kameroff’s crew. Kameroff said that the biggest challenge has been waiting for new supplies to arrive. Specifically, Kameroff and his crew have been waiting four days for replacement chainsaw parts. “The chains, they wear out pretty fast,” Kameroff said. “We’re constantly sharpening them and the chain stretches, so it comes to the point where you just have to leave a saw and continue on with what we have.” During Friday morning’s briefing at the spike camp, management personnel including Incident Commander Marty Adell underscored the importance of safety on the line. There have been several medical incidents over the last week, including one firefighter losing the tip of their finger and a paramedic having an allergic reaction to bees. EMT Fontella Webster said that the heavy smoke conditions for the last week have made it impossible for aerial medical evacuations, which presents a challenge for herself and the other medical responders. Fontella is from Ronan, Montana, and is in her first year as an EMT. “I’m more used to working directly on the line back home,” Webster said. Webster and one paramedic are currently the only medical crew monitoring the western side of the fire, so they have a wide area and a large number of people to keep an eye on. In cases where aerial evacuation is not possible, Webster and her coworker have to hike to the location with all of their trauma gear loaded on their backs. Down on the containment line that makes up the southwestern perimeter of the fire, Division Charlie Supervisor Kip Shields explained what his crews were doing to extend issue-oriented, nonpartisan organization working to inform voters. Please attend to help make our democracy effective.
Brushing operations
The Kenai Peninsula roads department will have contractors performing routine brushing operations on or about Sept. 15. The goal of the brushing is to increase motorist ability to see pedestrians and animals on the sides of the roads, ensure signage remains unobstructed, and provide ample storage for snow/ice during winter maintenance operations. Thank
preparing homes and developed areas to withstand a fire advance should it occur. The remainder of the personnel and resources assigned to the east side of the fire focused on further reinforcing and mopping up lines within the fire’s existing perimeter. Cooper Landing remains
Large swaths of burnt trees can be seen here along the Sterling Highway on Friday.
and reinforce the dozer line already in place. Shields is a fire specialist from Fairbanks and spent the last 15 years as a smoke jumper. Miles of hose run along the dozer line with a junction every 50 feet or so that allow firefighters to quickly hook up and start spraying down any areas of activity. The line branches off from Skilak Lake Road and extends several miles down to Skilak Lake. Shields and his crews have been working to extend the dozer line an additional hundred feet by cutting down trees and mopping up hot spots. One of the biggest challenges when it comes to mopping up an area in this part of Alaska is that the layers of duff — organic material that is susceptible to burning — can be up to 16 inches deep. This means that duff can smolder far under the surface, and it is also why many areas of the fire have seen renewed activity in alreadyburned areas. Sight, smell and feel are all used when crews look for hot spots.
around the peninsula you for your patience and please use caution where brushing is underway.
Shields said that sometimes the right sunlight will make it easier to pick out small patches of smoke on the ground, and drones equipped with infrared cameras also help. Down in Cooper Landing, Friday afternoon offered much clearer skies than the residents had experienced over the last week. Crews are working all around the community to create contingency lines that weave together roads, dozer lines and trails in a network of fuel breaks that are meant to prevent any flames from spreading quickly throughout the town. While some crews spent the day clearing trees along the sides of roads and sending them through the wood chipper, others have been meeting with Cooper Landing residents to clear trees and set up hoses and sprinkler systems around their properties. Michael Link lives in Anchorage but owns a home in Cooper Landing that he intends to make his permanent residence. Link has spent the last week in Cooper
Landing preparing his home for the worst. “I came down for what I thought would be a two-day trip and just never left,” Link said. Link said he didn’t have to do too much to prepare his property, because last year the State of Alaska did a FireWise assessment on his home and told him what needed to be done. Link had already cleared most of the fuels that were in close proximity to his house, so all the firefighters had to do was bring in the hoses and sprinkler systems and set up a 1500-gallon water tank to service his property and his three neighbors’ homes. Link said he was confident about the structure protection in place and complimented the firefighters for being polite, informative and helpful. “It’s so unlikely that it’ll sweep down here what with the nights getting longer and the rains coming,” Link said. “But in the event that it does I think we’ll be OK.”
or vegan option. Silent, live, and dessert auction Donations for the silent and dessert auctions are appreciated! Contact Linda Hawkins 907-240-5212.
food celebration of the year with live music, strolling performers, free kids’ activities, food demonstrations and the popular Fermentation Station. The festival is open to vendors of food (grown, harvested or made in Alaska); medicinal/wellness/personal care products made from locally grown or wild-harvested ingredients; food trucks featuring local ingredients; and educational booths relevant to the purpose of the festival. The rate is $30 per 10’ x 10’ tent space. The vendor application is on-line at https://www.kenailocalfood.org/ projects. For more information, call Heidi at 907-283-8732 x 5.
Harvest Moon Local Ninilchik Saturday lunch Food Festival program fundraiser Kenai Local Food Connection Fundraiser for the Ninilchik Saturday Lunch program will take place Sept. 21 from 5-7 p.m. at Ninilchik Community Center on Kingsley Road. $10 suggested donation for pulled pork sliders
in a “SET” status, which is not a notice to evacuate but a notice to have all preparations in place in the event an evacuation is warranted. Those who feel they need more time to evacuate should do so before an evacuation notice is issued. Crews continued to extend
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General news Erin Thompson Editor............................ ethompson@peninsulaclarion.com Jeff Helminiak Sports & Features Editor..... jhelminiak@peninsulaclarion.com Victoria Petersen Education...................................................... vpetersen@peninsulaclarion.com Joey Klecka Sports/Features ................................................. jklecka@peninsulaclarion.com Brian Mazurek Public Safety ..................................................bmazurek@peninsulaclarion.com Kat Sorensen Fisheries & City ............................................. ksorensen@peninsulaclarion.com
Brian Mazurek / Peninsula Clarion
is accepting vendor applications for its Harvest Moon Local Food Festival, to be held 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 14 at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna. It’s the Kenai Peninsula’s biggest local
containment lines and reduce fuels around three cabins along the Resurrection Pass Trail on Saturday. Single-engine air tankers assisted crews on the ground with water drops in that area as well as the area of fire activity south of the Kenai River for much of the afternoon. On the west side of the fire near Sterling, firefighters continued reinforcing the established containment lines along the highway. A contingent of personnel also began identifying and cutting
fire-weakened trees on the Sterling Highway and Skilak Lake Road that could present hazards to motorists. The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and Chugach National Forest have issued comprehensive area closures for public lands surrounding and including the Swan Lake Fire. A map of the closures can be found at kpboem.com, the website for the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Office of Emergency Management. The latest smoke outlook for the area shows improved
Hunters From Page A1
Refuge and the Chugach National Forest, and potential highway closures may impact hunting plans. Hunters should give fire crews plenty of space, the release said. Hunters may also face
air quality conditions due to rain showers and decreased fire activity. Easterly winds will continue to push smoke to the western side of the peninsula towards Sterling, Soldotna and Kenai. There is a temporary flight restriction in place in the area of the Swan Lake Fire. The TFR includes unmanned Aircraft Systems, or drones. Flying drones near wildfires could cause injury or death to firefighters as a result of mid-air collisions with tactical firefighting aircraft.
logistical challenges from road closures due to fire activity, poor visibility or air quality from smoke, downed trees, or getting caught in the paths of rapidly moving fires. When in camp, note that burn bans are still in effect across the Kenai Peninsula. All burning, including campfires and the use of charcoal grills, is currently prohibited, including campfires in established fire pits or rings in designated campgrounds.
Freedom from Pain · Freedom to Live Life Fully
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