FEMA's Mukluk Fire grant pays for firefighting, not for people who lost homes

FEMA declared a fire management assistance grant for the Mukluk Fire on Tuesday. It pays nobody who lost a house.

The grant covers firefighting and nothing else: personal comfort and safety items for crews working in field conditions, and firefighting supplies, tools and materials expended or lost. The federal share is 75 percent and the state covers the rest. The designated area, the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, sits in the unorganized borough, so no local government carries a share.

No dollar amount is attached. FEMA sets these awards from projected eligible costs submitted in the state's application, and money moves only once those costs clear a threshold and a FEMA-state agreement is in place. The declaration is one day old.

Household losses run through the separate state program Gov. Mike Dunleavy activated the same day, which closes Oct. 19. It covers the Alaska Gateway Regional Education Attendance Area, a different boundary than the federal designation.