Fire burns horse stable at the Southeast Alaska State Fair grounds

A structure fire broke out at the Southeast Alaska State Fair grounds Wednesday morning. Nobody was harmed, but one of the stables behind the hockey rink was destroyed.

Liam Cassidy says Wednesday morning he began burning some brush that had recently been cleared at the fairgrounds. He contacted the fire department before starting the burn.  

The burn pile was located behind the wooden corral that serves as a hockey rink in the winter time. Just after 10 a.m. he noticed that the siding of one of the stables behind the corral had caught fire.

“The wind picked up from the south and it just spread the fire into that building. It happened really quickly,” Cassidy said.

Cassidy called the fire department and over a dozen volunteers arrived on scene shortly after. 

Firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading beyond the stable. They surrounded the structure, spraying water from multiple hoses. After about an hour, the flames were extinguished for the most part. 

The damage was limited to the stable, which was mostly empty aside from some scrap metal, paint and sports equipment. 

Cassidy says he appreciates the fire department response and the excellent job they did. He warned others to be careful when attempting a controlled burn. 

“Just be real safe when you start fires this year. Things happen fast,” Cassidy said.

At the start of May, the Alaska Division of Forestry suspended burn permits for most of the state due to high fire danger and dry conditions in South-central Alaska. Southeast Alaska was exempt because of the region’s typically wet weather. 

The Division of Forestry says burn permits in southeast could be suspended if dry weather continues throughout the summer.