Cooper Landing crew sent home, injured firefighter released

The Juneau Lake fire near Cooper Landing is now estimated at 580 acres, while the Stetson Creek fire has held steady.

Public Information Officer Meg Cicciarella said work on both fires has remained the same over the last few days.

“(They’re) still mopping up and securing the perimeter,” she said.

The Stetson Creek fire is 70 percent contained, and the Juneau Lake fire is 55 percent contained.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

One initial attack crew from Montana was let go from the Juneau Lake fire, Cicciarella said.

“It generally means that the situation does not need attention from firefighters on suppression efforts,” Cicciarella said. “The Juneau Lake cabin will remain closed for monitoring purposes.”

Elsewhere in the area, the Cooper Creek South campground reopened Friday, and the Romig, Trout Lake and Swan cabins near Juneau Lake reopened on Saturday.

Cicciarella said firefighters will continue working toward better containment of each fire’s perimeter, then move to the center of the fires to ensure they are burning itself out.

“They do this mop up which is going so many feet in toward, let’s say, the center of the fire … sometimes it’s 100 feet and sometimes it’s 300 feet,” Cicciarella said. “The idea is that when you go in that far there’s nothing left because the fire has consumed all the fuel.”

Public Information Officer Jean Goad said that because each fire is different, complete containment and perimeter lines are not always needed. Fires that run into natural barriers, for example, are already contained in some areas.

“On the Juneau Lake fire, they won’t have a containment line around the whole thing,” she said. “There’s one section that’s burning into a snow bank.”

According to a press release from the United States Department of Agriculture, crews are also working to remove extra supplies and equipment from the area. Management of the fires will be returned to the Chugach National Forest on Sunday.

Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

A screenshot of a Zoom meeting where Superintendent Clayton Holland (right) interviews Dr. Henry Burns (left) on Wednesday, April 9, while Assistant Superintendent Kari Dendurent (center) takes notes.
KPBSD considers 4 candidates for Homer High School principal position

School district held public interviews Wednesday, April 9.

Organizer George Matz monitors shorebirds at the former viewing platform at Mariner Park Lagoon. The platform no longer exists, after being removed by landowner Doyon during the development of the area. (Photo courtesy of Kachemak Bay Birders)
Kachemak Bay Birders kicks off 17th year of shorebird monitoring project

The first monitoring session of 2025 will take place Saturday.

The Alaska State Senate meets Thursday, where a bill boosting per-student education funding by $1,000 was introduced on the floor. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Education bill with $1,000 BSA hike — and nothing else — gets to Senate floor; veto by Dunleavy expected

Senate president says action on lower per-student education funding increase likely if veto override fails.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Trial for troopers indicted for felony assault delayed to 2026

The change comes four months after a judge set a “date-certain” trial for June.

Members of the Alaska State Employees Association and AFSCME Local 52 holds a protest at the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
State employee salaries fall short of levels intended to be competitive, long-delayed study finds

31 of 36 occupation groups are 85%-98% of target level; 21 of 36 are below public/private sector average.

The Kahtnuht'ana Duhdeldiht Campus on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninula Clarion)
Tułen Charter School set for fall opening

The school’s curriculum integrates Dena’ina language, culture and traditional values.

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)
Micciche says borough budget will include $57 million for schools

The mayor’s budget still has to be approved by the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly.

Zaeryn Bahr, a student of Kenai Alternative High School, speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Alternative would lose staff member under proposed district budgets

Students, staff champion school as “home” for students in need.

Most Read