Mukluk Fire households can apply for up to $44,800 in state grants through Oct. 19

Households hit by the Mukluk Fire can apply for state grants of up to $44,800, and they have until Oct. 19.

The fire has burned about 5,533 acres near Tok and damaged roughly 20 homes, including houses belonging to members of the state's own Tok staff, some of whom worked the fire while their property burned.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared a state disaster emergency Aug. 18, the day after the fire started. Registration opened the same day for residents of the Alaska Gateway Regional Education Attendance Area, including Tok, whose primary residence or essential personal property was damaged.

The ceiling is $22,400 for housing repair and another $22,400 for personal property, available only where insurance, Small Business Administration loans and other resources fall short. That figure appears only in the program fact sheet, not in the governor's announcement.

Two details in the state's own paperwork conflict. The governor's announcement gives one hotline number; the registration flyer, fact sheet and the division's assistance page all give a different one. The announcement also says initial rental assistance runs 30 days for renters and three months for homeowners, while the fact sheet and webpage put it at up to three months for renters and up to 18 months for homeowners. Applications can also be filed online at ready.alaska.gov.

Jeremy Zidek, public information officer for the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said applicants should photograph and video damage before starting repairs and keep all receipts. Anyone with insurance must file a claim immediately, he said, because the state program cannot duplicate what private insurance covers.

A separate track reimburses local governments, tribal organizations and certain nonprofits, not households, for emergency measures and repairs to public infrastructure. That matters in Tok, which has no organized borough. Alaska Gateway is the school district structure used where none exists.

The state's Aug. 18 situation report says FEMA approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant for the Mukluk Fire, which reimburses suppression costs. FEMA's own published declarations database does not yet list it.