The Nome Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Department responded to a campfire out of control Monday night, around midnight, not far from penultimate Iditarod Trail checkpoint known as Safety Roadhouse.
Nome Fire Chief Jim West Jr. said a group of four were leaving Nome late Monday night in a boat, heading east on their way home to a nearby community. Engine trouble forced the boaters ashore around Mile 27 of the Nome-Council Road, just a few miles from the roadhouse.
West said coming ashore left the group wet and cold.
“The waves came over the back” of the boat “and got everyone wet … they swamped the boat coming in,” West said.
Then things went from too cold to too hot.
“Once they got to shore, they made a fire and it got out of hand,” West added. “They made it in an area where it was pretty grassy, instead of down on the beach.”
Strong winds and dry grass in the area saw the fire quickly burn out of control. Roughly a dozen fire fighters and a single fire truck were called out around midnight Monday and battled the blaze until about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday.
West said the nearest cabin was under a mile from the flames. The fire may have burned itself out eventually, but West said the fire department took the initiative to stop the blaze there and then, and kept battling the flames until it was fully extinguished.
No one was injured in the blaze but one of the four boaters was taken to Norton Sound Regional Hospital to warm up and dry off. The other three were returned to Nome for the night by the volunteer responders.
West said despite some recent rain, an overall dry spring has made for potentially dangerous fire conditions in the area. He urged people to “use common sense” while making beach and camp fires, to keep the fires small and under control, and to avoid dry areas.
