The Point Lodge Burns To The Ground At Lake Louise; Nobody Reported Hurt

ANOTHER LANDMARK BURNS 

The Point Lodge, burning down. Morning of Friday, February 25th. (Photos, Patrick Hankins, 3 Lakes Facebook)

Lodges Are The Heart Of Every Settlement…

The Point Lodge at Lake Louise has burned to the ground. Lake Louise Lodge and The Point were the two major lodges operating at the lake. 

The Point burned down in the early hours of Friday, February 25th, and is a total loss. Comments on the lodge's Facebook site, "3 Lakes Rentals" said it was an electrical fire.

Nobody was reported hurt. The big, multi-story lodge was most recently owned by Ken and JoAnn Hobbs. 

The Point At Lake Louise.

History Of Fires

The Point is one of many major lodges that have burned to the ground in the Copper Valley over past decades.

On the Richardson Highway, these included: 

Summit Lake Lodge, Sourdough Roadhouse, Gakona Junction Village and Copper Center Lodge. 

On the Tok Cutoff: Chistochina Lodge.

On the Glenn Highway: Mendeltna Lodge.

On the Denali Highway: Tangle Lakes Lodge

Other major fires in the region burned down the original Hub gas station, the Sports Page, National Bank of Alaska, and – a year ago – Tazlina River Trading Post. 

Some of these important buildings have been rebuilt. 

There have been close calls, too. The Caribou Hotel almost burned down; the annex section was destroyed by fire, but the main building was saved with the help of Valdez fire crews who came up to battle the blaze. 

Whenever there is a fire in the Copper Valley, it rips out a core section of the small, isolated surrounding community.

Lodges and stores are far more important in the Copper Valley than in other parts of America, and are direct offshoots of the lodges on the old wagon and sledge trails that passed through the region a hundred years ago. 

The Point Lodge at Lake Louise.