Fire

Clayton Whisamore stands in the remnants of his Kasilof home after a wood stove fire on Nov. 10, 2025. Whisamore couldn’t afford home insurance due to limited disability income, and his friends have organized a GoFundMe to help with the rebuild. Photo courtesy of GoFundMe

Kasilof community supports man who lost home in fire

Longtime Kasilof resident Clayton Whisamore’s home burned down on Nov. 10.

 

A spruce bark beetle is seen on the underside of a piece of bark taken from logs stacked near Central Peninsula Landfill on Thursday, July 1, 2021, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Prescribed burns will produce visible smoke near highways

Burns are part of ongoing spruce beetle mitigation efforts

 

The badge for the Kenai Police Department

Kenai resident arrested on arson, burglary charges

No one was in the home and moderate fire damage and significant smoke damage occurred, officials said

 

The Kenai Fire Department headquarters are photographed on Feb. 13, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)

Fundraising efforts spring up after 2 families are displaced by Monday fire

Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire around 1 a.m. on Monday

The Kenai Fire Department headquarters are photographed on Feb. 13, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche speaks during a meeting of the Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche speaks during a meeting of the Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

72-year-old Soldotna resident dead in Sunday house fire

The origin and cause of the fire are currently under investigation

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Alaska State Troopers logo.

1 found dead inside burned Soldotna residence

Alaska State Troopers responded to reports of a structure fire with Central Emergency Services fire crews around 5 a.m.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
The Sterling Highway cuts through areas of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge where burns from the Swan Lake can be seen, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Prescribed burns will produce visible smoke near highways

The burns are part of ongoing spruce beetle mitigation efforts

The Sterling Highway cuts through areas of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge where burns from the Swan Lake can be seen, Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Kachemak Emergency Services and Homer Volunteer Fire Department personnel work to extinguish a fire inside the Fritz Creek General Store east of Homer on East End Road, early Thursday morning on July 6, 2023 in Fritz Creek, Alaska. Photo by Mark Kirko

Fritz Creek general store burns

Fire damage causes loss of a longtime community hub to East End residents

Kachemak Emergency Services and Homer Volunteer Fire Department personnel work to extinguish a fire inside the Fritz Creek General Store east of Homer on East End Road, early Thursday morning on July 6, 2023 in Fritz Creek, Alaska. Photo by Mark Kirko
Division of Forestry & Fire Protection engines responding to the Charland Fire on May 21, 2023, near Soldotna. (Photo courtesy Kenai-Kodiak DOF)

9 fires reported on Kenai Peninsula since start of May

The largest local fire was the Charland Fire, which was reported on Sunday

Division of Forestry & Fire Protection engines responding to the Charland Fire on May 21, 2023, near Soldotna. (Photo courtesy Kenai-Kodiak DOF)
The Sterling Highway cuts through the the Swan Lake fire burn area in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, as seen on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Smoke from prescribed fire may be seen on Sterling Highway

The burns were scheduled for Monday, but smoke may be seen in the evenings and mornings following the activity

The Sterling Highway cuts through the the Swan Lake fire burn area in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, as seen on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Alaska State Troopers logo.

Kasilof man, 69, dies in residential blaze

Troopers were notified of the fire at around 5:30 a.m.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
The aftermath of a small grass fire off East Hill Road near Homer, Alaska is seen here on April 8, 2020. The fire was started by a discarded cigarette. (Photo by Matt James/Alaska Division of Forestry)

Wildland fire season starts; burn permits now required

Burn permits are available from the Division of Forestry Fire Prevention

The aftermath of a small grass fire off East Hill Road near Homer, Alaska is seen here on April 8, 2020. The fire was started by a discarded cigarette. (Photo by Matt James/Alaska Division of Forestry)
Motorists travel through the Swan Lake fire burn on the Sterling Highway on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Prescribed fires along Sterling Highway to start this month

Areas most likely areas to experience smoke include Sterling Highway Mileposts 43, 45 and 53

Motorists travel through the Swan Lake fire burn on the Sterling Highway on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Kenai Fire Marshal Jeremy Hamilton is seen by one of Kenai Fire Department’s Tower trucks on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 at Kenai Fire Department in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Get up, get out and get safe’

Kids taught about fire safety as part of prevention effort

Kenai Fire Marshal Jeremy Hamilton is seen by one of Kenai Fire Department’s Tower trucks on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022 at Kenai Fire Department in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A Forest Service fire crew gets brief during an operation. Fire crews from Alaska are frequently deployed to the Lower 48 to help combat wildfires that are growing larger and closer to urban areas in many cases. (Courtesy photo / Parker Anders)

Into the fire: Alaska’s wildlands firefighters eye coming dry season

Alaska’s wildlands firefighters lend a hand where needed nationwide.

A Forest Service fire crew gets brief during an operation. Fire crews from Alaska are frequently deployed to the Lower 48 to help combat wildfires that are growing larger and closer to urban areas in many cases. (Courtesy photo / Parker Anders)
A Capital City Fire/Rescue fireman walks away after fighting a house fire at 8460 Kimberly Street on Friday, July 20, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Dog wakes residents, alerts them to house fire

In the case of a Friday afternoon house fire in the Mendenhall Valley, a small dog was the first responder.

A Capital City Fire/Rescue fireman walks away after fighting a house fire at 8460 Kimberly Street on Friday, July 20, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Shadura Road fire extinguished

A Monday evening structure fire on Shadura Road near Kasilof drew fire crews from Central Emergency Services to extinguish the burning building and from the… Continue reading

A Central Emergency Services firefighter emerges from a burning home on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 off of Poppy Lane near Kalifornsky Beach Road. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) 

No injuries in home fire near Kalifornsky Beach Road

There were no injuries reported from a home fire near Kalifornsky Beach Road on Tuesday afternoon. No one was in the home when it burned… Continue reading

A Central Emergency Services firefighter emerges from a burning home on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 off of Poppy Lane near Kalifornsky Beach Road. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion) 

Arson suspected in Nikolaevsk fire

Arson is suspected in a Sunday night structure fire in the village of Nikolaevsk. None of the home’s occupants were present at the time of… Continue reading