houston heroes showed up

Three teenagers in Houston, Alaska stopped a wildfire from spreading near the Little Susitna River Campground early Saturday morning, acting before the Houston Fire Department and crews from West Lakes and Willow could reach the scene. Houston Fire Department Director Christian Hartley said the teens had no connection to how the fire started and simply saw it and began fighting it.

A warming fire had escaped its container and begun moving through dead grass and fallen logs, growing from roughly 1 foot by 1 foot to about 30 feet by 15 feet before it was contained. The three teens set up a bucket brigade, hauling water from the Little Susitna River about 60 feet to the fire's edge, back and forth, slowing its spread on their own.

By the time fire crews arrived, the teens had already slowed the fire enough that firefighters extinguished it within 10 minutes. Hartley said wind conditions could have pushed the fire through the surrounding forest and into nearby businesses had it kept growing unchecked.

The Houston Fire Department publicly thanked the teens and their families, crediting them with helping protect Little Susitna Rotary Park and nearby commercial properties. Because all three are minors, the department did not release their names.