Mat Su firefighters return from Fairbanks to find belongings vandalized

Alaska State Troopers are investigating the theft of several vehicles and other items from a Division of Forestry office in Palmer.

The vandalism and thefts were discovered Monday morning as firefighters returned from working 2 weeks on the fires near Fairbanks. Firefighters working on those fires keep their vehicles and personal equipment at the gated lot and building in Palmer near the UAF Experimental Farm. Almost all of the 20 cars parked in the lot had been tampered with. Five cars and trucks were stolen and have not been recovered yet.

Norm McDonald, fire management officer for the Mat Su Area, says both the Pioneer Peak hotshot crews and the Gannett Glacier crews were hit with the vandalism. The thieves broke into cars, the offices and lockers of the firefighters. Computers, digital cameras, climbing gear, generators and chainsaws were stolen from the building and parking lot. One of the worst insults to injury was the thieves urinated on clothing ripped from lockers and thrown on the floor. A total of 40 firefighters were affected by the vandalism.

McDonald says the Gannett Glacier crew is not back from fighting fires up north yet, but their crew boss has been notified of the thefts. That crew is the same crew that does fire mitigation in the upper and lower valley. They worked on the Su Valley High School fire mitigation before the old school burned down.

Vehicles the Troopers are looking for are: a 1997 green Subaru license plate EYZ384, a white 1992 Dodge Ram 2500 truck license plate BATCO, a gold 2002 Toyota Tundra license plate EZB939, a 2002 white Ford F-250 truck and a blue 2000 Ford F-250.

The incident is still under investigation. Anyone with information about the thefts can call Crime stoppers or the Troopers.

Crime Stoppers – 745-3333 Palmer Troopers 745-2131