1
By MATT BUXTON [email protected] The upcoming days of warm weather in the forecast will be the major test of containment work done by crews fighting the 80,000-acre Stuart Creek 2 Fire. Midweek rains and cooler temperatures gave the nearly 800 interagency crew mem- bers an opportunity to go on the offensive against the blaze 25 miles east of town, cutting defensive fire lines by hand and with heavy machinery. A evacuation notice still remains in effect along Chena Hot Springs Road between 16 Mile and 34 Mile, and the weekend will help the agen- cies determine whether that needs to continue, interagency spokesman Marc Hollen said. With temperatures fore- cast for the high 70s to mid- 80s, Hollen said the fire lines, which have containment of the large fire as much as 25 percent, will be watched close- ly. “That’s why we haven’t tak- en down an evacuation watch yet,” he said. “We want to get through the weather event, and if we can get through the weather event without, then we might be able to take the watch down. That’s why we’re working so hard right now.” The cooler temperatures allowed crews to make strong progress on the northwestern and southwestern sides of the fire. “We’re pretty positive they’ve made some good prog- ress, especially on the north- west side,” he said. By RICH LANDERS The Spokesman-Review SPOKANE, Wash. — Growing up in the Yukon, Melanie Klassen had seen numerous bicycle tourists ped- aling the Alaska Highway, but never one with a canine companion run- ning behind him. “I thought it was odd until I saw the panicked look on the biker’s face — as though he was about to be eaten,” she said in a telephone interview. “That wasn’t a dog; it was a wolf.” The cyclist, William “Mac” Hol- lan, 35, of Sandpoint, Idaho, verified Klassen’s observation of Saturday’s incident: “At this point, I realized I might not be going home, and I began to panic at the thought of how much it was going to hurt.” The Grand Prairie, Alberta, wom- an was among the heroes who rescued the North Idaho elementary school student-teacher halfway through his 2,750-mile pedal to Prudhoe Bay as a fundraiser for a Sandpoint school lunch program. Hollan’s account was posted Mon- day on his Point to Bay Facebook page from Whitehorse. He departed Sandpoint on June 17 for the six- week tour, loaded with bike camping gear and accompanied by Gabe Daw- son, of Ashland, Ore., and Jordan Achilli, of New York. As Hollan rode a half-mile ahead of his buddies, his nightmare began By TIM MOWRY [email protected] Charges were officially filed this week against the three peo- ple allegedly involved in the theft and vandalism case at Two Rivers Elementary School a month and a half ago. Two 18-year-olds and a 14-year- old, all of whom live in Two Rivers, were charged with felony burglary, theft and criminal mischief. The two adults charged were identified as Mason Silas Bizzarro and Wesley Travis Phillips, while the name of the juvenile was not released. The boy was referred to in charging documents only as S.R. No arrests had been made as of Thursday, but summonses were issued to Bizzarro and Phillips to appear in Fairbanks Superior Court at 9 a.m. today. The juvenile’s case is being handled by the Depart- ment of Juvenile Justice. The charges had been anticipat- ed, as Alaska State Troopers said a month ago they had contacted all three suspects in the case and for- warded charges to the Fairbanks District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Juvenile Justice. Charges against Bizzarro and Phillips were officially filed in Fairbanks Superior Court on Wednesday. Charges filed in school break-in Three teens face burglary and theft charges The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903 Seventy-five cents Friday, July 12, 2013 newsminer.com RECYCLED Recycled material is used in the making of our newsprint 252-C Vol. CIX, No. 191 32 pages Classified ................... C1 Comics ...................... B4 Dear Abby ..Latitude 65/2 Faith ......................... B3 Interior/Alaska ............ B1 Obituaries .................. B2 Opinion .......................A4 Our Town ...................A3 Sports ....................... D1 Stock Markets .............A6 Weather ......................A7 World..........................A7 Inside Sourdough Jack sez: “It’s hard enough for me to stay on a bike as is. I don’t think I’d be able to keep goin’ with a wolf on my tail.” Cyclist reflects on Alaska Highway wolf chase Please see WOLF, Page A8 Please see SCHOOL, Page A8 Romeo & Juliet Photos by Sam Harrel/News-Miner Firefighters mop up hot spots along a dozer line off Quarry Road, a part of the containment line for the Stuart Creek 2 Fire, on Thursday. They were pulling the berm apart left by the dozer to put out all of the hot spots. All of the hot spots have to be out for 300 feet into the burned area along the line before it can be considered a containment line. Above: An excavator pulls a berm apart left by a dozer as fire crews work to improve the containment line of the Stuart Creek 2 Fire. Right: A member of the Lower Kalskag fire- fighting crew pulls a root wad apart as they mop up a dozer line. The crew will ensure that everything along the line is cool to the touch and there are not hot spots for 300 feet into the burned area before it can be considered a contain- ment line. Fire crews brace for heat Weekend weather could hurt containment of Stuart Creek blaze For videos about the wildfire and a Thursday update on the fire’s status, see www.newsminer.com. Please see FIRE, Page A8 Out and about Alaska hoops teams play in Outside tournaments SPORTS, D1 LATITUDE 65 Shakespearean classic returns to the stage this weekend in Fairbanks Assembly rejects gun proposal By MATT BUXTON [email protected] The Borough Assembly soundly defeated a proposal to allow bor- ough employees to carry firearms while on the job. The ordinance, authored by Assemblyman Lance Roberts, would have effectively allowed employees to carry a firearm if they went through a concealed car- ry handgun course. Please see GUNS, Page A8
