Person dies in East Anchorage vehicle fire

A person was killed Saturday in a vehicle fire in East Anchorage, the fire department reported.

Anchorage firefighters were called to the 4600 block of Klondike Circle at 6:09 p.m. for a vehicle fire, according to a written statement Sunday from Deputy Chief Alex Boyd. The street is in the Russian Jack neighborhood south of the Glenn Highway and just east of Pine Street.

Firefighters arrived within two minutes and found the vehicle “fully involved in fire,” Boyd wrote.

“Witnesses on scene advised that they believed someone had been in the vehicle at the time of the fire and that the person was unaccounted for,” Boyd wrote. “Crews initiated fire suppression as well as search of the vehicle, where a deceased person was found.”

The person’s identity had not been released as of Sunday. Boyd said the Medical Examiner’s office was working to confirm their identity.

The fire appeared to be accidental, Boyd wrote. “Based on evidence at the scene and witness statements, the fire was likely caused by improperly discarded smoking material,” he wrote.

It was ninth fire fatality in Anchorage this year and the 15th statewide, he wrote.