Haines fire chief Brian Clay elevated the local fire danger to “high” and restricted open burning to campground fire rings or barbecue grills. 

That comes after volunteer firefighters were called Saturday to put out a nearly 5-foot-by-5-foot smoldering area in the Portage Cove woods. 

Haines police sergeant Max Jusi said a hiker noticed the burn and led emergency responders to the spot.  What started the fire was unclear. Jusi said the lone camper in the Portage Cove campground said they had nothing to do with it. 

Clay said no open flames were present when he arrived. Firefighters soaked the ground to put the smolder out. 

Conditions are good for a fire, Clay said. “It’s dry out.” Those conditions may be short-lived, however, as the National Weather Service predicts a chance of rain Monday evening and again Wednesday and Thursday.

Rashah McChesney is a multimedia journalist and editor who has reported and edited newsrooms from the Deep South to the Midwest to Alaska. For the past decade, she has worked in collaborative news as the...