Fire damages three buildings overnight in Downtown Talkeetna

A fire broke out in Downtown Talkeetna in the early hours of Thursday morning. Talkeetna Fire responded to a structure fire at a little after 2 am to blaze that had consumed the My Little Dumpling food trailer and was spreading to the adjacent structures, including Denali Dry Goods located in the historic Helmer Ronning house, built in 1930, and the Denali Zipline Tours building. The Dumpling trailer is a total loss, an substantial damage was seen at the other two structures.

According to Talkeetna Fire Chief Ken Farina, the three structures were ablaze when they responded, at which point units from as far as Willow and Central Mat Su fire were called in to assist in fighting the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other structures in Downtown Talkeetna.

1Fire

Initial fire response took about two hours to knock the fire down, and Response units concluded their efforts at around 8:30 am, once the hot spots were eliminated.

The food trailer is a total loss, and considerable damage was caused to the Zipline building and Denali Dry Goods. Farina says the efforts to contain the fire and precent its spread was a priority, due to the close proximity of buildings in Downtown Talkeetna, which are primarily wood.

2Fire

It is unknown to what extent the Denali Dry Goods building was damaged. Fire Marshalls are conducting investigations into the cause of the fire, and total damage is still unkown at this time.