This is a developing story.
An early morning fire at an abandoned residence in the Mendenhall Valley area is being investigated as possible arson, according to Capital City Fire/Rescue officials.
At about 2:27 a.m. on Tuesday, CCFR responded to a residential structure fire in the area of Nugget Drive and discovered a fire blazing on the exterior of the double-wide trailer home.
According to CCFR, the fire in the abandoned home made its way into “many concealed spaces” which made suppression difficult. However, officials were confident the fire was out later that the morning. No injuries were reported and the structure appeared to be unoccupied.
CCFR Assistant Chief Dan Jager told the Empire Tuesday afternoon that the fire was being investigated as intentionally set due to the building’s lack of electricity and the location of the fire.
“When the crew first arrived, the fire was on the outside of the house, it wasn’t on the inside,” he said. “There was no logical reason for there to be any kind of a fire when there was no electricity to the building itself.”
Jager said CCFR will continue to investigate the incident alongside the Juneau Police Department. There are no suspects at this time, and Jager said he believes the fire is an isolated incident.
“We’re really wanting the public to help us out if they have any kind of information for leads or anything like that,” he said. “It just really emphasizes the importance of it being a community effort.”
CCFR officials encouraged anyone with information regarding the possibly intentionally set fire to contact Jager at 586-5322 ext. 4323.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651) 528-1807.
