Stebbins fire destroys school, several buildings

Smoke rises from a Wednesday, June 26, 2024 occurrence successful Stebbins. (Courtesy Pamela Pete via Facebook)

A occurrence that started Wednesday evening successful Stebbins has destroyed nan section school, consuming respective different buildings overnight.

According to eyewitnesses successful Stebbins, connected St. Michael Island astir 120 miles southeast of Nome, nan occurrence started successful a shop adjacent to nan Tukurngailnguq School astatine astir 7 p.m. Wednesday. The school, shop, 2 caller portable buildings, and adjacent lodging are expected to beryllium full losses.

An overhead image of Stebbins, pinch buildings destroyed successful nan occurrence marked.

Bystanders live-streamed nan occurrence connected Facebook arsenic location residents offered up words of support successful nan comments. The videos revealed a occurrence that had already engulfed overmuch of nan confederate broadside of nan school. Streams of h2o could beryllium seen flowing up from nan crushed arsenic firefighters attempted to slow nan spread.

Witnesses reported nan smell of burning rubber successful nan aerial arsenic rubber mulch from nan school’s playground caught fire. 

Heavy instrumentality was utilized to excavation a perimeter astir nan school. As of Thursday morning, it appears to person helped contained nan fire.

Red bags of cogwheel pinch bottled h2o fresh to beryllium loaded connected a level to Stebbins. (Ben Townsend/KNOM)

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department began deploying to Stebbins astatine astir 8 p.m. Wednesday, pinch a Bering Air Cessna Grand Caravan carrying 1 unit personnel and equipment.

Volunteer firefighters could beryllium seen assembling cogwheel astatine Nome Airport, waiting to drawback nan adjacent formation to Stebbins. A King Air departed Nome Airport astatine 8:47 p.m. pinch further instrumentality and crew.

NVFD Chief Jim West Jr. confirmed to KNOM that six firefighters are being sent to Stebbins. West has received reports that nan occurrence started successful a boiler room successful a adjacent shop building, though that is still to beryllium confirmed. Witnesses reported proceeding an detonation coming from nan guidance of nan shop.

Firefighters departing Nome headed for Stebbins connected a Bering Air plane. (Ben Townsend/KNOM)

The schoolhouse is located adjacent nan town’s h2o works and coach housing. In nan precocious evening 10-mph bluish winds shifted and began to travel from nan south, creating caller challenges for firefighters attempting to incorporate nan blaze.

The outbreak comes little than 2 years aft a occurrence burned down the village’s only market store.

About 260 students attended nan schoolhouse built complete 2 decades ago.

This is simply a processing story. Please cheque backmost for updates.