Fire Chief Bob Painter said firefighters in Tanker 1 got paged at about 9:15 a.m. to a coal-deposit fire near the parking lot at the end of the Homer Spit by Land's End Resort. The caller reported foul-smelling smoke coming from rocks. Firefighters found smoldering coal on the beach. A backhoe operator from Homer Public Works dug up about a 5-foot-by-5-foot area of burning coal, and firefighters sprayed it with about 2,500 gallons of water. The fire was put out.
Painter said someone lighting a campfire on top of the deposit probably started the coal fire. The Homer Spit is a glacial moraine, Painter said, and does not contain coal seams as are seen on the Homer bluffs, but deposits of coal.
"Coal will just sit there and smolder for days," Painter said.
Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians initially went to the Spit to stand by while warrants were served at Taco Express at Thompson's Boardwalk by Homer Police, Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. HFVD were there in the event of injury or if hazardous materials were found. Department resources were not needed, Painter said, and firefighters were released from the scene in time to respond to the coal fire.
An Illinois woman about 11:50 a.m. Sunday reported to Homer Police that her husband left for a walk at about 8 a.m. and had not returned for a planned outing. The couple were staying at the Driftwood RV Park on Bunnell Avenue. Six rescue workers from the Homer Volunteer Fire Department rescue personnel started a ground search of the area. At about 4 p.m. a rescue worker found the missing man dead in a ravine leading down to the beach near Jenny Lane. Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said Ben P. Gehlbach, 67, of Illinois, died of natural causes.
The family of Henrietta Combes, a woman staying at South Peninsula Hospital's Long Term Care unit, reported to police last Wednesday that three rings worn by Combes were missing. Layla Pedersen, Combes' daughter-in-law, said family members searched the area of her hospital bed, but did not find the rings. One ring later turned up. Pedersen estimated the value of the other rings to be about $20,000.
Homer Police Chief Mark Robl said the case is under investigation.
"We don't suspect any theft problems at the hospital, and haven't run into that," Robl said. "If it is a theft, it would be an isolated incident."
Hospital chief executive officer Charlie Franz said the hospital is also investigating. He said when patients are admitted, the hospital takes an inventory of personal property. The hospital encourages family members to take anything of value to alleviate concerns of possible theft or loss. Patients are allowed to wear their jewelry, he said.
"In Long Term Care, that's their home," he said. "We try to provide a reasonable level of security."
Franz said all hospital employees go through a criminal background check. He said the hospital has not had any reports of thefts by patients of other patients, although there have been infrequent reports of missing items.
"Generally, the items turn up," Franz said.
Alaska State Troopers at 10:49 p.m. last Thursday received a report of a man who shot himself at his Old Sterling Highway home in Anchor Point. According to an investigation, troopers said Mark Jacobs, 79, shot himself with a Ruger .44 handgun. He died at the scene. No foul play was suspected.
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.
We encourage you to add your comments. To prevent spam, comments with links are manually approved during the normal business day. Please be respectful of others with your comments, bear in mind anyone in the community may be reading your comments.
