Firefighter seriously hurt in Alaska blaze

SOLDOTNA, Alaska, July 12 (UPI) -- A firefighter is in intensive care with burns to nearly 17 percent of his body after being hurt battling one of dozens of wildfires in Alaska, official say.

The Alaskan Division of Forestry said Todd Warner had been manning a water-pumping operation as part of the fight against the Logging Slash fire when the fire ignited gasoline vapors, the Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Shanta Creek wildfire near Soldotna, Alaska, continued to rage in a limited fire suppression area in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

Refuge public information officer Mike Ferris said the area where the blaze was Friday and Saturday was mostly boggy and wet, limiting its spread.

Forestry Division spokesman Gary Lehnhausen said the Minto Flats South wildfire grew to nearly 142,000 acres Saturday night, threatening nearly 60 cabins and 20 outbuildings.

The Daily News said crews are also attempting to control the Minto Flats fire, the Lunch Lake fire and Lunch Lake fire that are among the more than 60 wildfires burning in Alaska.