Fire destroys one of Alaska’s last roadhouses

The owner of a historic roadhouse that was destroyed in a weekend fire suspects bad wiring was to blame and says the lodge’s oiled logs fueled the flames. The Copper Center Lodge, located off the Old Richardson Highway in Copper Center, burned early Sunday. It was on the National Register of Historic Places. Owner Tom Huddleston told the Anchorage Daily News, the building is a total loss. "It was absolutely one of the last of its kind," he said. "They called it the jewel of the roadhouses."