Fifty homes destroyed at Tok in Alaska's lightest burn year since 1995

The Mukluk Fire destroyed 50 homes at Tok during a summer in which less of Alaska burned than in any year since 1995.

Climate specialist Rick Thoman's season recap, published Thursday, describes the fire as one of the most destructive in Alaska history in terms of societal impact. The recap attributes the Aug. 17 ignition to a downed power line. The Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection has not closed its investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is providing technical support to the state-led inquiry.

An updated DFFP structure assessment released Aug. 30 confirmed 50 single residences and 108 secondary structures destroyed. The second figure counts sheds, garages and workshops. The fire stands at 7,335 acres and 29% containment.

"One of the things that we've been watching here, even though it's been hot and dry in Delta and Tok and Delta for most of the summer, we hadn't had wind. And this was the component that threw us into here," Rob Allen said at an Aug. 18 community meeting in Tok.

Evacuation orders lifted Aug. 29. Tok Area Forestry Manager Frank Robbins said in an Aug. 28 division update that many people were greatly affected by fire suppression work and that the agency wants to work with landowners on repairs.

The division warns burn debris can hold ash, sharp metal and chemicals. The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is preparing a debris removal plan for property owners. The division has asked people to hold off on sending donations or supplies, saying a small community is easily overwhelmed, and to wait until local organizations say what Tok needs. The fire information line is (907) 505-0362, staffed 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

DFFP has extended fire season in the Delta, Tok and Copper River protection areas through Sept. 14 and suspended burn permits in the Tok Protection Area. Permits are normally required only through Aug. 31, and the suspension means no burning at Tok at all.

The recap puts statewide area burned at 36,000 hectares, or 88,700 acres, through Aug. 31, with the season still winding down. Combined area burned in Alaska and the Yukon Territory was the lowest since 1977. Lightning was typical for recent years. The recap suggests growth was limited in part by a lack of sustained hot weather to dry boreal ground cover.

The Mukluk Fire accounted for about 2,950 hectares, or 7,300 acres, second only to the Tatlanika Fire east of Anderson at 15,500 hectares. Tatlanika, on the Tanana Flats, covered 38,400 acres. Canada's Northwest Territories accounted for more than 97% of the area burned in Arctic North America.