WASILLA -- The Willow mushing community is rallying around Dianne Maythorne and Nick Kimlinger, the couple who lost their home and 13 dogs in a fire Monday.
A fast-moving fire that started as Kimlinger slept inside destroyed the couple's two-story log home on North Blackie Loop, near Nancy Lake State Recreation Area. Willow, a town of about 2,000 located 90 minutes north of Anchorage, is home to a large dog mushing contingent ranging from recreational enthusiasts to Iditarod champions.
Kimlinger barely got out of the house in time, fire officials say.
He was sleeping because he worked the night shift at Goose Creek Correctional Center at Point MacKenzie, according to a family member. Maythorne, a nurse practitioner at a Wasilla family medical center, got word of the fire at work. She called her sister, Marnell Steiner, from the road when she was about 20 minutes from home.
"She knew that the house was a loss and that Nick was safe," said James Chapman, Steiner's fiance. "She had no other information."
She didn't know yet about the dogs.
Firefighters arriving at the house early Monday afternoon found flames shooting out the back and 13 dogs dead inside.
Many were retired sled dogs from the kennel Maythorne -- an avid amateur musher -- built over the years before a back injury caused her to start reducing her kennel, Chapman said. Several were puppies from a surprise litter 9 months ago. One was Bella, a cocker spaniel Maythorne adopted from her mother and used as a therapy dog.
"The dogs inside were some of the ones that she's had the longest," Chapman said.
Seven to 10 dogs in a yard outside survived the fire, said Ken Barkley, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's deputy emergency services director. Two horses ran off but neighbors helped round them up and put them in a trailer. A friend of the couple is putting them up. Some cats inside the house also escaped.
The couple had insurance on the house, Barkley said.The cause of the fire remains unknown. A state fire investigation will be done if the insurance company requests it, he said.
The American Red Cross of Alaska is providing food, clothing and other daily needs, according to spokeswoman Beth Bennett. Nearby mushers with room in their dog lots are caring for the remaining animals, Chapman said.
The Willow Dog Mushers Association is helping the couple, according to vice president Justin High, himself just starting to rebuild the Willow home he and his wife, Jaimee High, lost to fire in December. Both Highs are mushers; Jaimee High put off plans to run the Iditarod this year because of the fire.
The Red Cross often puts up fire victims in hotel rooms, but that's not been necessary for Maythorne and Kimlinger, Bennett said.
"It's kind of an interesting situation," she said. "With folks that are in the mushing community, they really step up to take care of one another."
A gofundme account has been established for the couple.