Update, 7:25 a.m. Tuesday:
The Card Street Fire tripled in size overnight, according to a situation report from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center, growing from about 3,000 acres to an estimated 9,000 acres.
Few details were immediately available, but the report said the fire was growing eastward, in the direction of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge and away from most residential areas. The fire burned through the Skilak Loop area as it headed east, but those areas were evacuated Wednesday.
Original story:
Two new wildfires sparked by lightning along the Sterling Highway on the Kenai Peninsula were smoldering Wednesday, with the larger one unattended because resources were stretched thin, according to forestry officials.
More than a dozen fires were sparked overnight by lightning storms across Southcentral Alaska.
The neighborhood of Kenai Keys -- on the fringes of the Card Street fire burning since Monday near the community of Sterling -- remained mostly intact thanks to intensive firefighting efforts from responders and homeowners overnight. Walls of flame threatened homes there Tuesday night as the Card Street blaze loomed over the neighborhood. The fire had consumed about 3,000 acres by Wednesday afternoon.
The neighborhood was similarly threatened by last year's Funny River fire, and it appears homeowners learned valuable lessons from that blaze. Tuesday night, hoses snaked across yards in the neighborhood, with residents blasting water fed by pumps slurping from the Kenai River. Those who remained behind as the fire approached were prepared to evacuate quickly by way of the river if necessary.
In the end, their efforts and those of the firefighters responding to the burn paid off. The fire line stopped right at the neighborhood's perimeters.
"It's a miracle. They stopped the fire right at the newspaper box," said Bill Bailey, a homeowner in the area.
Fellow resident Patti Jolin would not leave her two-story log home Tuesday night, despite the urgings of state troopers. Neighbors helped spray water on one another's homes, saturating them and protecting them from the windborne embers.
Jolin praised the efforts of firefighters, as well as a higher power: "They did a fantastic job, but I give a whole lot more to God," she said. "Two years in a row, he listened."
An Alaska Department of Fish and Game cabin was lost -- bringing the total structures burned so far to 11, including three homes -- but all the neighborhood's residential structures remained intact as Wednesday morning arrived.
"No new houses are lost," Division of Forestry spokesperson Terry Anderson confirmed, but the battle wasn't over yet.
"It is safe this morning, because the fire laid down, but in the evening it will rip," he said. "We are confident we can hold the spots and protect the subdivision."
A living monster
Firefighters geared back up Wednesday morning for another day battling the blaze, smoldering in mostly blackened trees on the boundaries of the subdivision.
Homeowner Jacquie Turpin said she had expected her large log house and other structures to be gone when she and her husband returned to their property. Her lawn and garden were still freshly green as her husband coiled a thick hose he'd used the night before. Swaths of trees blackened by the Funny River and Card Street fires were visible from their home.
"It was such a shock to come in this morning and see it all here. When we left last night it was roaring down toward the last house and we could see the flames," she said, pointing along the river. "I'm amazed they were able to do what they did. This thing was a living monster."
She set up a table with coffee cups and a thermos near her driveway, with a sign reading "Thank you all heroes!"
Another 135 firefighters arrived from the Lower 48 by Wednesday morning, Anderson said. They'll be looking for hotspots and providing backup. About 175 firefighters were fighting the burn Wednesday afternoon.
The fire spent most of Wednesday burning toward the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to the east, away from civilization. The Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area, within the refuge, was closed until further notice Wednesday afternoon.
Fires burn near Cooper Landing
With lightning-sparked fires still burning elsewhere in the state, more help would still be needed.
U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Mona Spargo said Tuesday night that lightning sparked the Juneau Creek fire north of Cooper Landing, about 30 miles east of Sterling. At 9:50 a.m. Wednesday, Spargo said, the fire was not contained and had burned through at least 60 acres. The Forest Service evacuated public-use cabins in the area.
Four people were battling the Juneau Creek blaze, Spargo said, and a water scooper was able to respond Tuesday night. Spruce, tundra and hemlock fueled the fire.
On the other side of the Sterling Highway, the Stetson Creek Fire, initially estimated Wednesday morning at 750 to 1,000 acres, was actually much smaller, only 250 to 300 acres, Spargo said.
The Cooper Creek campground had been evacuated for logistical purposes, not because of fire danger, Spargo said.
"(Tuesday) night, we didn't know what was going on," she said. "We went to the first one (Juneau Creek), but the other one (Stetson Creek) got bigger overnight."
"If they had time last night to go to the other fire they were going to, but they timed out before they could make it," Spargo said, meaning the responders had reached the end of their 16-hour shift limit and were required to rest.
Spargo didn't immediately know if they'd need to evacuate the Russian River and Cooper Creek areas, but said it's still possible.
The Stetson Creek fire was visible from Gwin's Lodge on the Sterling Highway Tuesday evening, but by Wednesday morning the situation had "greatly improved," owner Keith Mantey said.
"It's hazy out, but there's no ominous plume of smoke like yesterday coming this way," Mantey said.
Anticipating an evacuation Tuesday, the lodge packed up the bar and took cash from the building, Mantey said. On Wednesday morning, with the need for evacuation appearing to subside, they were restocking the bar.
Business has been affected somewhat by the fire, Mantey said, as some people canceled reservations with the lodge, which remained open Wednesday.
"We really can't afford to be down a day," Mantey said, during Alaska's short but busy summer season.
So far Mantey had not seen any aircraft assisting with the fire, and he said local fire departments had been manning the fire.
Meanwhile, up the Sterling Highway, Sackett's Kenai Grill had shut its doors for the day.
"We are closed today due to the fire behind the restaurant. We have engines and troopers at the ready, and we will get back to work as soon as it's safe to do so," the restaurant posted on its Facebook page Wednesday morning.
Alex DeMarban reported from the Kenai Peninsula and Megan Edge and Laurel Andrews reported from Anchorage.