A fire that consumed a Seward log cabin early Tuesday left one man dead, Alaska State Troopers said.
The victim was tentatively identified as 69-year-old William Block of Seward.
Initial reports of the fire, on the 12000 block of Merlin Drive, arrived just after 4 a.m. Responding firefighters from Seward and Bear Creek discovered human remains inside the destroyed residence about an hour later.
Connie Bacon, chief of the Bear Creek Volunteer Fire Department, said Block was the owner of the residence that burned. First responders took just seven minutes to reach the scene, but the 20-by-30-foot cabin was already engulfed in flames.
"It was called in as a fully involved structure fire, and it was fully involved when they arrived," Bacon said.
Half a dozen units from Bear Creek and Seward were dispatched to the fire, which was brought under control in about 15 minutes. Its cause remained under investigation Wednesday, Bacon said.
"There wasn't much left," Bacon said. "The roof collapsed shortly after our arrival."
Block's next of kin have been notified, troopers said. The remains have been sent to the State Medical Examiner Office in Anchorage for positive identification.