A small wildfire in the Palmer area that doubled in size since the weekend is still burning, but the dozen firefighters assigned to fight it have made significant strides in containing the blaze.
Alaska Division of Forestry spokesman Tim Mowry said Tuesday that the Leaf Lake Fire, initially reported near the Knik River Saturday evening before it grew from 10 acres to 25 overnight Sunday, remained at 25 acres Tuesday and was almost fully contained.
"We're calling that fire about 80 percent contained right now, and hoping to have that 100 percent contained by the end of operational shift today," Mowry said. "It depends on how the winds shift."
The fire hadn't further encroached on a cabin about a mile away, which had been considered threatened by fire crews Sunday.
"The fire hasn't moved in that direction -- it doesn't look like the fire is moving anywhere," Mowry said.
Despite sporadic reports of lightning in Interior Alaska on Tuesday, Mowry said there weren't any Mat-Su strikes over the weekend that could have ignited the Leaf Lake Fire.
"There wasn't any lightning in the area, so it was human-caused," Mowry said. "We don't know the specific cause but we're looking into that."
The Mat-Su Borough put out a call Tuesday for residents to check burn conditions and apply for burn permits at the state Department of Natural Resources website.