Tok fire grants of up to $44,800 open, with an October 19 deadline

Households affected by the Mukluk Fire can seek state grants worth up to $44,800, and they have until Oct. 19 to apply. The fire grew to an estimated 5,533 acres near Tok and damaged about 20 homes, including houses belonging to members of the state's own Tok staff, some of whom worked the fire while their own property burned.

Registration for State Individual Assistance opened Aug. 18, the day after the fire started, and covers residents of the Alaska Gateway Regional Education Attendance Area, including Tok, whose primary residence or essential personal property was damaged. Gov. Mike Dunleavy declared a state disaster emergency for the area that day, activating both Individual Assistance for households and Public Assistance for publicly owned infrastructure.

The grant ceiling appears only in the program fact sheet: $22,400 for housing repair and another $22,400 for personal property, per disaster, available only where insurance, Small Business Administration loans and other resources fall short. Eligible costs include essential clothing, appliances, tools, one primary vehicle, and disaster-related medical, dental and funeral expenses, among other items.

Two details in the state's own paperwork do not match. The governor's announcement directs applicants to a hotline at 1-844-445-2044, while the registration flyer, fact sheet and the division's Individual Assistance page all give 1-844-445-7131, staffed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Applications can also be filed online at ready.alaska.gov. 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.

Jeremy Zidek, public information officer for the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM), said in a release that applicants should photograph and video damage before starting repairs and keep all receipts. "If you have insurance, you must file a claim with your provider immediately; the State IA program cannot duplicate benefits covered by private insurance," Zidek said.

Public Assistance follows a separate track, reimbursing local governments, tribal organizations and certain nonprofits, not households, for eligible emergency protective 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. A Request for Public Assistance must be filed within 30 days after an area is designated eligible.

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. Federal regulation sets the federal share of such grants at 75% of eligible costs, with the state covering the remainder.