On Dec. 31 at 5:19 p.m. Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of fire in a cabin on Crystal Mountain Road. The fire began in the crawlspace and had burned through the kitchen floor when Girdwood firefighters arrived.
A total of twelve fire department members responded with six vehicles, entered the building under conditions of heavy smoke and extinguished the fire before it caused further damage. All occupants escaped and Girdwood Fire Department members safely removed two cats from the building.
The fire caused minimal damage to the actual interior of the structure. The cause of the fire was attributed to electrical wiring in the crawl space. The occupants were alerted by the smoke detectors, a fire official said, which allowed them to escape and call the fire department before the fire got out of hand.
By Ken Smith
Turnagain Times
In a special election held Tues., Jan. 15 in Whittier, voters shot down a ballot proposition to extend the sales tax to year-round 62-32. Currently a sales tax is only applied during the months of April through Sept. A second ballot issue asked residents whether to increase the sales tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent; that ballot still awaits 12 absentee votes which will decide the issue. Only one vote separates the ballot issue with a vote of 47- 46 to approve the tax increase.
The four absentee ballots are by mail and have yet to be received. The absentee ballots will be counted Jan. 22 the day the City Council will hold their special meeting to certify the Special Election. The increase in the sales tax rate would not apply to food for domestic consumption.