The Anchorage Fire Department says the cause of a fire late Tuesday at a large illegal campsite in South Anchorage remained under investigation Wednesday.
John See, AFD spokesman, said numerous people reported a column of dark smoke around 8 p.m. Tuesday. Responders discovered the smoke came from a fire at an illegal campsite in a wooded area near 94th Avenue and Old Seward Highway, See said.
"The illegal camp was extensive," said a statement from AFD. "There appeared to be a working area where bicycles were being repaired (this was the area that burned), a sleeping area and a cooking area."
The area that burned measured roughly 10 feet by 10 feet, See said. It included a makeshift work table, several bicycles, grease guns and tarps. There were no people in the area, See said. A fire pit there measured about 3 feet in diameter, he said.
See said Wednesday he did not have an estimate of the damage caused by the fire. Nine AFD units responded to the fire. The last fire crews left the campsite around 8:40 p.m.
The South Anchorage fire came four days after flames burned through about a quarter-acre of woods near the Chester Creek Trail. That fire likely started when an ember escaped from a smoldering fire at an illegal campsite, according to fire officials.