Anchorage, AK - As firefighters continue to battle the Stuart Creek two fire, U.S. Army Alaska officials are now saying they are not sure they are responsible for starting the blaze. Fort Wainwright Garrison commander Colonel Ron Johnson told residents of Pleasant Valley and Two Rivers last Saturday night, that artillery training exercises had started the blaze. But on Tuesday, US Army Alaska public affairs chief Major Alan Brown was not as definitive. "Right now, our position is we can’t make an official determination on exactly what caused it. Are there indications that this fire was directly related to our artillery training in mid June? Yes there are, and that’s something we’re going to take a close look at when we’re able to do a very thorough review of all the information surrounding the fire."
Fort Wainwright public affairs staff referred calls regarding the fire to Major Brown, who is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson, near Anchorage.
Major Brown said their main priority now is getting the fire under control and making sure the citizens of the The Fairbanks North Star Borough are safe and can return home. He said he could not say if the department of defense would help pay for the fire fighting, but he said if citizens feel they've been harmed, there is a process. "Should anyone up in Fairbanks determine there was damage done to their property or they feel like something was done that was the fault of the Army,then we do have a claims process that they can follow through on and each claim will be looked at individually, on its own merit."
Major Brown said the Army would not release their fire mitigation plan that was developed before the artillery testing began because the fire is under investigation.