Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Marty Rogers and Michael Hatfield debrief after getting off their 24-hour-plus shift setting up the unmanned drones that will use unfrared radiation imaging to detect hotspots in the Funny River Fire, Thursday, May 29, at Kenai Peninsula College.

Photo by Kelly Sullivan/ Peninsula Clarion Marty Rogers and Michael Hatfield debrief after getting off their 24-hour-plus shift setting up the unmanned drones that will use unfrared radiation imaging to detect hotspots in the Funny River Fire, Thursday, May 29, at Kenai Peninsula College.

More than a place to sleep

  • By Kelly Sullivan
  • Thursday, May 29, 2014 9:45pm
  • News

A group of residents at the Kenai Peninsula College Residence Hall having been staying out all night and coming back long after dawn, while their neighbors are still sound asleep.

The temporary tenants are Division of Forestry firefighters combating the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire on the night shift.

The firefighters were originally set up in tents on the lawn outside the incident command center at Skyview High School, but the area’s bustling daytime activities made sleeping a challenge, said Associate Director of Residence Life Tammie Willis.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

“It is a tradition for residence halls to open their doors to firefighters,” Willis said. The student staff has been working in overdrive to accommodate the influx of occupants, she said.

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep honestly,” said Resident Advisor Joshuah Rutten, who worked the weekend shift at the front desk. The excitement is worth it, he said.

Rutten said he has never been in charge of something of something of this scope, that affects the community. He said he couldn’t have done it without co-workers like Sean McBride who jumped in to clean and set up the beds for 44 rooms. For some of those rooms, the college had just a few hours of notice.

Willis said it has also been an opportunity to show the students how they can use their resources to take care of the community. In this case it is supplying a place to sleep for those in need, she said.

The firefighters have been taking advantage of free laundry service and open gym at the hall in their down time, Willis said. They’ve been incredibly gracious and thankful to exchange the hard ground for soft beds, she said.

Rooms were also made available for evacuees when the order went into affect Sunday, Willis said.

Kenai River Campus Veterans Services Coordinator John Pollock moved his wife, two daughters and Australian shepherd into the residence hall after he and his daughter saw flames flickering over the treetops near their home.

Pollock stayed on their property overnight to protect it from rogue embers, until the official evacuation order went out Sunday. Pollock said it gave him great peace of mind knowing his family was safe and taken care of by the staff.

Also rooming at the hall is a group from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Marty Rogers, director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft, and a team from the UAF spent 24-plus hours setting up the launching point for unmanned aircraft that will be used daily to locate hotspots in the fire, making it easier to determine where to focus efforts.

Doors on the main campus are also open to other organizations working on the wildfire, KPC Director Gary Turner said. The National Interagency Buying Team led by Jackie Robinson is set up in classroom 123.

Robinson said her team is sent around the country to offer support to incidents, such as natural disasters, by working with local administrations to procure supplies, services and help with renting land and equipment.

The team often becomes emotionally invested, Robinson said. Each member works between 12-to-15-hour shifts each day for two straight weeks, she said.

For Robinson and all but one of her co-workers, it is their first time in Alaska. She said they agreed the Kenai Peninsula is a gorgeous area.

“Our hearts go out to the community,” Robinson said.

Kelly Sullivan can be reached at kelly.sullivan@peninsulaclarion.com

More in News

Kachemak Bay is seen from the Homer Spit in March 2019. (Homer News file photo)
Toxin associated with amnesic shellfish poisoning not detected in Kachemak Bay mussels

The test result does not indicate whether the toxin is present in other species in the food web.

Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Federal education funding to be released after monthlong delay

The missing funds could have led to further cuts to programming and staff on top of deep cuts made by the KPBSD Board of Education this year.

An angler holds up a dolly varden for a photograph on Wednesday, July 16. (Photo courtesy of Koby Etzwiler)
Anchor River opens up to Dollies, non-King salmon fishing

Steelhead and rainbow trout are still off limits and should not be removed from the water.

A photo provided by NTSB shows a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, that crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska, Sept. 12, 2023. The plane was weighed down by too much moose meat and faced drag from a set of antlers mounted on its right wing strut, federal investigators said on Tuesday.
Crash that killed husband of former congresswoman was overloaded with moose meat and antlers, NTSB says

The plane, a single-engine Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub, crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska on Sept. 12, 2023.

Armor rock from Sand Point is offloaded from a barge in the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, part of ongoing construction efforts for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Work continues on Kenai Bluff stabilization project

The wall has already taken shape over a broad swath of the affected area.

An aerial photo over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit from May 2021 shows a mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
KBNERR warns of potential harmful algal bloom in Kachemak Bay

Pseudo-nitzchia has been detected at bloom levels in Kachemak Bay since July 4.

Fresh-picked lettuces are for sale at the final Homer Farmers Market of the year on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
USDA ends regional food program, pulls $6M from Alaska businesses

On July 15, the Alaska Food Policy Council was notified that the USDA had terminated the Regional Food Business Center Program “effective immediately.”

Exit Glacier is photographed on June 22, 2018. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
2 rescued by park service near Exit Glacier

The hikers were stranded in the “Exit Creek Prohibited Visitor Use Zone.”

Two new cars purchased by the Soldotna Senior Center to support its Meals on Wheels program are parked outside of the center in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 30, 2022. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
State restores grant funding to Soldotna Senior Center

In recent years, the center has been drawing down its organizational reserves to provide some essential services.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in