Mail bound for Kenai Peninsula destroyed in USPS truck fire

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Mail that was on its way to residents on the Kenai Peninsula was destroyed early Tuesday when a contracted United States Postal Service vehicle caught fire on the Seward Highway.

A contracted semitruck caught fire around Mile 38 of the Seward Highway after departing from the processing and distribution center in Anchorage, according to a press release from the postal service. The blaze destroyed the truck’s trailer and its contents, the USPS said, but the driver was not injured.

Mile 38 of the highway is just before the turnoff onto the Sterling Highway at Tern Lake that leads to Cooper Landing and other peninsula communities. According to the postal service, the mail that was destroyed on the truck was destined for Kasilof, Clam Gulch, Ninilchik, Anchor Point, Homer, Fritz Creek, Halibut Cove, Nanwalek, Nikolaevsk, Port Graham, Nikiski and Seldovia.

The USPS wrote that the cause of the fire is not known at this time and that an investigation is underway. All customers affected by the loss of mail are being sent a letter, the release said.

Affected peninsula residents who were expecting mail and believe it may have been on the truck are encouraged to call the Postal Service Call Center at 1-800-275-8777. In the event that a package was insured, they can file a claim online on the USPS website.

Cooper Landing Emergency Services, the closest fire and emergency medical service agency, responded to the fire early Tuesday morning. According to a post on the agency’s social media, units from Moose Pass responded to the blaze as well.

“While the contents are a total loss, thankfully the driver was able to uncouple and save both himself and his truck from further injury,” the agency wrote.

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