Firefighters Arrive to Aid Alaska Colleagues

HOUSTON, Alaska — About 1,000 firefighters, many from the Lower 48 states, joined 300 of their colleagues on the fire lines Thursday to combat a wildfire raging out of control 50 miles north of Anchorage.

Officials said the blaze, which started Sunday, had consumed 41,600 acres, destroyed hundreds of homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,000 people.

However, calmer winds and higher humidity raised firefighters’ hopes of putting out the fire in the Matanuska Valley.

At least 800 firefighters arrived Thursday, and 200 more were due today to join the 300 Alaskan volunteers battling the fire.

The visiting firefighters--most of them coming from Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Montana--were arriving on commercial flights.

Crews have been flying six helicopters equipped with water buckets to the hottest spots, and the Canadian government sent three air tankers to add to the two the state uses to drop fire retardant. A shift in wind direction from southwest to northwest allowed the reopening of the Parks Highway, a major corridor from Wasilla to Fairbanks.