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UPDATE: Firefighters worked through the night and by 4:30 a.m. were still in the area, 14 hours into the incident and still managing small flareups as they occurred, according to a fire department dispatcher.

A wildfire tore through part of the Campbell Creek Greenbelt on Wednesday afternoon, rapidly ballooning in size before being reined in by an all-out response, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.

The fire was reported at about 2:15 p.m. at less than a quarter acre, said department spokeswoman Jen Klugh. It was burning in a densely wooded area about a quarter mile southeast of Piper Street's southern-most point, "safely scary" from the nearest home, she said.

By the time the blaze was essentially under control at about 7 p.m., it was mapped at 10.1 acres, according to battalion chief Tom Kempton. There were no injuries reported, he said.

"The fire moved very quickly; it expanded very fast and got into the tops of trees," Kempton said. "There's going to be extensive mop-up with this fire -- I would suspect two or three days, especially if it's hot and dry like it is now."

A gentle north wind pushed the fire southeast -- away from the nearest homes -- throughout the afternoon, and confined it to an undeveloped area between the Campbell Creek greenbelt and Bicentennial Park.

"We do get them pretty often along this trail system," Klugh said. "We haven't seen anything to this size. This is not the kind of thing you want to see in Anchorage."

Julie Alvarez watched as the fire crept closer to the homes just across the street from hers. The closest it got to a building was about 150 yards, she said.

"We were all thinking we would have to be evacuated but then the wind switched," she said. "Everybody was ready. We all had our hoses out, but it didn't get any closer, thank God."

More than 60 responders battled the fire Wednesday, including 25 from the state Division of Forestry, which deployed a team of smoke jumpers from Fairbanks that was pre-positioned in Palmer.

Two helicopters alternately hauled buckets of lake water onto the fire. They were soon joined by an airplane that swooped in low over the gathering crowd of spectators and firefighters, barely clearing the treetops with its first of three retardant loads.

Ground forces attacked the fire with hoses, shovels and axes as they dug fire lines and cleared debris around the perimeter.

A handful of members of the American Red Cross of Anchorage showed up to show their support as well.

"We're just here to see if firefighters need anything," said Red Cross member Sue Thornton. "You never know when something little could turn into something big."

BLACK SPRUCE

Dry conditions and flammable sap in the spruce helped fuel the fire.

The blaze crept along the ground in dry moss and flared up only when it ran "up the spruce like a ladder" in the densely packed trees, said Sue Rodman, a forester with the Anchorage Fire Department.

"We knew this would torch out because there's black spruce and it's very close together," said Rodman, noting that the area is also covered in moss and debris. "That's what really carried the fire today."

A thick pillar of smoke drifted hundreds of yards into the blue afternoon sky and was visible across the city at times. Its black and gray soot masked the sunlight and bathed the crews in orange light as they worked.

One man, whose home was closest to the woods, was busy spraying the structure with water, apparently trying to prepare in case the fire changed course. But for many, the fire was not close enough to cause alarm.

HOMELESS CAMP

Frances Raskin, whose home was within a quarter-mile of the blaze, came out to see what was going on but said she was not concerned because it was a safe distance away. More a concern were the homeless camps, she said.

"There must be at least 30 people living back there," Raskin said. "None of us go back there because it's dangerous."

The cause of the fire remained officially undetermined Wednesday, although Kempton said a runaway campfire from a homeless camp was the "probable cause."

"We know that the fire originated in the area of a homeless camp," he said. "You'll find the remnant of fires all over the place."

With the holiday weekend approaching, Kempton urged the public to take care while celebrating.

"We want people to take all the precautions that are possible with camp fires," Kempton said. "Fireworks are completely prohibited in the municipality. ... We don't want to take any chances with another fire like this."

Find James Halpin at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call 257-4589. Find Monique Newton at adn.com/contact/mnewton.

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