Brave Willow firefighter loses home to the very fire he is fighting to stop.

Neighbor walks one of Leo Lashock's dogs by what remains of Lashock's home.

So last night somebody sent me an e-mail with a Daily Kos link attached and asked me to please post something about this story.

I don't usually take requests, but this time it was my pleasure.

Courtesy of the Daily Kos: 

A valiant and unselfish fire captain in the town of Willow Alaska has been fighting fire, without end, since Sunday. Sometime during the week he realized the smoke he saw in the distance was his own home.... his truck.. his dog trailer. Everything. 

Thanks to neighbors, his 17 dogs were rescued, and were returned to their owner today amid the smoldering ruins of the rest of his belongings. 

His name is Leo Lashock. He's 51. He's a fire Capt , a recreational dog musher. And a hero. If you have a few bucks to send his way, he could use them. And he deserves them. His mailing address (PO Box) is readily available on Zabasearch. To read more about Leo, the Sockeye Fire and the brave firefighters battling it, go to ADN.com. This was posted without Mr. Lashock's knowledge or permission. Thank you. This is the best thing you'll do today. 

As it turns out Lashock's mailing address is not "readily available" however there is a Facebook page for the Willow Dog Musher's Association which has information for those wishing to help out.  

And here is the Alaska Dispatch story about Lachock for those who want to know more.

The poor guy really did lose just about everything, except 17 of his dogs who were rescued before the flames arrived. (Three are still missing.)

I don't often suggest that people send money, and you can respond however you want to here.

However I will say that these people are being devastated by these fires, and it seems especially unfair that a man who has been on the front line since the day they started should return home to find virtually everything he owns destroyed.

The reviews of the Sportsman Channel's "Amazing America with Sarah Palin" are trickling in, and so far the opinion seems to be "Meh."

At risk of losing my designation as "Palin reality show watcher-in-chief" let me admit that I did NOT watch Palin last night on the debut of her latest soon to be cancelled return to television.

As it turns out, though my cable package is fairly comprehensive, it does NOT feature the Sportsman Channel. I know, bummer right?

Since I have no intention of purchasing new channels just so I can watch something that I should only have to watch at gun point, I will continue to get all of my information about this series second hand.

You know, until it crashes and burns or Palin remembers that she does not want to have an actual job and quits.

Anyhow I looked around on the internets and found two reviews thus far.

One from a reporter at the Guardian, who kind of admits that he did not find it eye gougingly bad.

I found this part interesting: 

But as interventions in the culture wars go, Amazing America with Sarah Palin is more a water pistol than one of the high-powered rifles being sold to its watchers. The amazing Americans profiled during this hour of TV don't address the merits of Obamacare or the government shutdown. Instead, they discuss their recipes, show off their homes and drink beer straight out of pitchers at the local tavern. 

And Palin isn't even a big presence in the first episode of the very show that bears her name. She introduces segments. She adds sporadic commentary while wearing a GIRLS WITH GUNS t-shirt in front of an American flag backdrop.

Essentially the heavy lifting is done by Palin's various co-stars who go out on location and conduct the actual interviews, while she stays warm and dry inside the studio standing in front of the green screen.

The next review came from the Alaska Dispatch, from a reporter who is an old hand at watching Palin family reality train wrecks shows.

Here is how she summed it up:

Here’s what I learned watching the first two episodes of “Amazing America with Sarah Palin”: 

• We get The Sportsman Channel at my house. I literally had no idea. 
• Sarah Palin talks baby talk when she talks to dogs. (Amazing.) 
• If the credits and titles are any indication, The Sportsman Channel thinks Sarah Palin is still the governor of something. 
• Being a “modern-day cowboy” has nothing to do with wrangling cattle and much to do with liking guns. 
• Technically, under the “Amazing America” definition, I qualify as a modern-day cowboy. 
• Horses do not have airbags. 

With 10 more episodes left to go, here’s the bottom line: If you are remotely interested in guns, horses, trucks and/or dogs (no, seriously, those things are specifically mentioned in the truly awful theme song); if you like sassy girl-power messages; if you can get on board with things like stock car racing and pro wrestling; and most importantly, if you can reach deep inside of you and forget Sarah Palin is anything but an engaging television presenter with a strange accent; you can love “Amazing America.”

Now this reporter watched two entire episodes which included Palin's sole interview with musher Dee Jonrowe,  during which she learned that DeeDee named several of her dogs after members of Palin's family, and that Palin has no balance, which is made painfully clear when she tumbles from the moving dog sled.  (Palin also makes DeeDee apparently the only meal she knows how to make, moose chili.)

Sarah and DeeDee before Palin lost her grip.

The consensus seems to be that the show has found the right mix of tiny, carefully scripted, servings of Palin with a lot of harmless hillbilly shenanigans to keep things light and non-political.

If they keep that up the show could be Palin's most successful.

However the question is how long can Palin last before she feels the need to attack the liberals, spout off something hateful about the President, or say something mind numbingly stupid?

My guess is not long.

But we shall see.

Frigid Alaska days, unexpected guests, and interesting gossip about Sarah Palin.

Go ahead and blink a couple of times and wipe away the sleep dust, just so you can be sure that you are indeed seeing what your eyes tell you they are seeing.  Yes that is Arizona Governor Jan Brewer at the start of the Iditarod in Anchorage, with none other than a vaguely bearded Todd Palin.

How odd is that? Well I find it very odd, and more than just a little surprising.

I guess it did not come as much of a surprise to  Brewer's Twitter followers however, since she has been tweeting updates about her trip for the last two days.

In Alaska for a few days for my first vacation in over two years as Governor...heading out to dinner tonight with my husband
4 Mar via Mobile Web

Had a great dinner last night at Pizza Olympia in Anchorage...now off to the Iditarod Race
11 hours ago via Mobile Web

Had a good morning at the Iditarod Race...now taking a Denali flightseeing tour
8 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Now if THAT was not weird enough (And take it from me that is certainly weird enough!), I just heard some very interesting information today from somebody in the know, who says that the Grizzled Mama herself has been working with a local guide to learn how to handle a rifle with more competence, and that she also has a film crew with her shooting an episode for "the show" up by the Denali highway. 

That is all I know right now, but apparently it was assumed that I would know what was meant by "the show."  However, to be honest, I really have no freaking idea.

The last I heard "Sarah Palin's Alaska"  had NOT been renewed for a second season.

Which leads me to wonder if in fact it WAS renewed for another season but is being kept on "the down low" for some reason, or if Palin is filming some completely NEW version of her reality show, or if this is being filmed for something completely different.

I also have to wonder how Governor Jan Brewer fits into this, or whether she has anything to do with it at all.

All I can do is report what I know so far and hopefully get the chance to flesh it out as more information becomes available.  In the meantime if any of YOU hear anything please leave a comment or send an e-mail and let me know.

As of right now I am very, very curious.

Let's take a break from our usual topics to enjoy a uniquely Alaskan experience.

Here are some pictures that my friend Dennis Zaki sent me to shae with all of you.

These are from the Fur Rondy Sled Dog Races.

You literally NEVER see these dogs happier than when they are pulling a sled.  It is literally in their DNA.

And here is  video that Dennis made as well.

Thanks Dennis.

The dark underbelly of dog sled racing in Alaska.

Every year as the snow begins to melt, the Fairbanks North Star Borough Animal Shelter experiences what has come to be known as "the spring husky dump."

"Mid-April: Taxes are due, and here come the huskies," said sled dog advocate Ronnie Rosenberg.

Rosenberg is just one of many in Fairbanks who spend countless hours year-round, on the Internet and phone, trying to find homes for unwanted sled dogs.

But every spring, after the major races in the state are finished and mushers, mostly those who weren't as successful as they would've liked, clean out their dog lots.

Dozens of sled dogs are brought in during the months of April and May and the majority are perfectly capable, working sled dogs, said Carol Kleckner, a volunteer husky trainer and shelter volunteer.

So far this spring, the shelter has reached its maximum at 25 huskies. In one week, three were put to death. Five were adopted, which is encouraging but it's very rare to have that many find homes in one week, said Sandy Klimaschesky, the lead animal tender at the shelter.

Sometimes because the shelter is so full, some dogs go right from the front door to be euthanized, she said.

I have written before about a practice that was used in the past, and truthfully may still be used today, called "culling" where a dog sled racer will drown the puppies that he believes are too scrawny to pull his sled. I saw this practice take place as a kid but am not certain that it takes place anymore. But still it speaks to how some dog sled racers view their dogs. They are not pets, they are engines to pull a sled, and if they cannot perform then they are of no use.