A Palmer house fire fueled by high winds Sunday night, which spread to nearby woods and saw two people hospitalized with smoke inhalation, prompted a callout of every Mat-Su Valley fire department. Dennis Brodigan, the director of Central Mat-Su Emergency Services, says dispatchers were informed of the blaze, on the 2100 block of North Laurel Drive, just after 9:15 p.m. Sunday. With the fire rapidly expanding, Brodigan described the incident as an “all hands on deck” call, with Central Mat-Su crews responding as well as members of the West Lake, Sutton, Butte and Palmer fire departments. The two injured people were taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for treatment at about 10 p.m. While the wildfire was brought under control relatively quickly, the house fire wasn’t declared under control until shortly before 1:15 a.m. Monday. Brodigan says the home is a total loss. Firefighters had to keep embers off a nearby apartment building and several homes, with some crews at the scene until almost 6 a.m. Monday to ensure that the fire didn’t flare up again.
A Monday Alaska State Troopers dispatch says state fire marshal's office were set to visit the home Monday and investigate the fire's cause. Channel 2’s Amberia Hill contributed information to this story.