Haines donation drive collects wood stoves and building supplies for Tok fire rebuilding

Haines is about 450 road miles from Tok, down the Haines Highway and back up the Alaska Highway through Canada. Residents there are collecting wood stoves, stovepipes, refrigerators, furniture, household goods and building supplies for families rebuilding after the Mukluk Fire.

The fire started Aug. 17 from a downed power line and burned 7,335 acres. A state structure assessment completed Aug. 30 counted 50 single residences destroyed, along with 108 outbuildings, garages, sheds and workshops. More than two-thirds of what burned was the second kind.

That distinction is why donated goods matter here. State disaster grants generally do not cover outbuildings. The state's fact sheet for this fire sets two ceilings for those who qualify: $22,400 toward housing repair, and another $22,400 for personal property, which includes tools, appliances and subsistence equipment. Registration closes Oct. 19, by phone at 1-844-445-7131, weekdays from 8 am to 4 pm.

The federal declaration for the Mukluk Fire carries public assistance only. Individual assistance was not declared, which means it pays governments to repair public infrastructure and does nothing directly for a household that lost a house.

State emergency officials asked early on that people hold off on unrequested donations, saying a community Tok's size can be swamped by goods it did not ask for, and that the clothing in particular had already outrun what anyone could use. They asked donors to wait for specific requests and to give money where possible. The Haines effort is collecting named items rather than general goods.

Crews are still repairing what the firefighting itself tore up, restoring dozer lines, ATV trails and roads. The state has extended fire season in the Delta, Tok and Copper River protection areas through Sept. 14 because the country is still dry.