The condition of a firefighter injured during a bear encounter Monday has improved and he will be leaving an Anchorage hospital Thursday.
Public Information Officer Jean Goad received the news Wednesday afternoon. She said no further information was available.
Firefighters still working on the two Cooper Landing fires have made progress. Stetson Creek, which is at 212 acres, is 60 percent contained and Juneau Lake, which is at 573 acres, is 40 percent contained, as of 6 p.m., Wednesday, Goad said.
Goad said cooler weather has helped firefighters in keeping the sizes down, but Wednesday as the temperatures rose and humidity dropped, crews were better able to see hot spots.
If weather is damp it is hard to see those small flare-ups in the interior of the fire that need to be extinguished, Goad said.
“Once they get the line in, they’re going to start working back to do mop up,” Goad said. “They’re putting out hot spots just to make it secure.”
Goad said firefighters are working to protect “high resource values” in the area, including the campgrounds. She said putting out hot spots and securing fire perimeters is important to prevent the chance of materials reigniting.
“It’s really important in this district because fire is not usual here, and so there’s not a lot of firefighters on staff all the time like they would be in other areas,” Goad said.
No other injuries have been reported.
Reach Kelly Sullivan at kelly.sullivan@peninsulaclarion.com.
