The Hunter family helps out with a home rebuild in Tok which has been devestated by the Mukluk Fire.
A Haines man is heading up an effort to collect supplies for a home rebuilding effort in Tok where the Mukluk Fire has devastated parts of the community.
The Mukluk Fire started on August 17. According to the Alaska Division of Forestry & Fire Protection, it has consumed at least 50 homes and more than 100 outbuildings like garages and sheds in the area.
Organizations from all over the country, and people from Haines, including State Park Ranger Jacques Turcotte, have pitched in to help.
“I saw a lot of people just stopping and donating their time,” said Matthew Hunter. “I met one guy from South Dakota who was riding through on a motorcycle, heard about it at the camp, stopped and gave a week of his time to build a shelter.”
He said he, his wife Heather Smith, and their two sons became involved after they drove through the affected area on their way to the Alaska State Fair. They could smell the fire.
“We saw some burn, but we didn’t see the active fire that had already ravaged the town,” he said. “From the highway, you don’t see a whole lot of it unless you look down a driveway or two.”
They stopped at a local restaurant for a break, but staff said they weren’t serving.
“They let us know we could go to the soup kitchen out front and we didn’t want to tax them, so we kept going,” Hunter said.
The family spent the weekend in Palmer enjoying the fair – the first time the family had been – and then on the way back, Hunter said they stopped again.
“My better sense got to me and I went over and asked if there was anything we could do to help locally,” he said.
That’s when they found out about an effort by a youth group, Cornerstone Global Youth Foundation, to rebuild 15 houses to distribute to people who had lost their homes.
Volunteers work on building homes in Tok which has been devestated by the Mukluk Fire.
Hunter, who owns a construction company, said he felt like it was a good time to pitch in with that expertise.
“I identified some, not necessarily holes, but issues these structures could use a little bit of improvement on,” he said.
For example, the homes are being built on skids so they can be transported, but that makes them vulnerable to the impacts of cold and wind. The R-15 insulation being used in the floor isn’t rated for that kind of living in such a cold place.
“So, my main mission is focused on trying to skirt these buildings so the undersides of the houses are protected,” he said. “So they’re not getting the cold up through the floor – especially for those who have their plumbing still intact and want their well water in place.”
The family was in a position to stay for about a week, in large part because the two boys are homeschooling this year.
“Ironically, they’re studying wildfires,” Hunter said.
At first, Hunter said, they didn’t seem to know how to fit themselves into what was happening with the community.
“There’s a youth center, so the boys were certainly curious. There was a stack of Gatorade out front, so they were certainly curious about that. But then, they jumped in naturally because there was a group of people toiling away,” he said.
At some point, the family got access to a room in the school where there was a kitchen and shower and Wi-Fi to catch up on schoolwork that they hadn’t done during the fair, while Hunter worked a few blocks away on the housing rebuild.
Eventually, they decided to come back to the Chilkat Valley to restock on medicine and get some paperwork done for his business. Hunter said he’s hyper-focused on getting the new houses built before winter sets in.
“I know things are going to get drastically bad for people who don’t have shelter,” he said. “We’re just doing what we can.”
To that end, he’s been posting on social media in Haines about what’s needed to finish the homes. Haines resident Sam McPhetres, who has friends in Tok helping with the rebuild, made a flyer to share.
Hunter said a family member gave him some funding to cover the cost of fuel, and he said people can donate directly to the youth foundation if they want to help with the effort.
Right now, he’s waiting on physical supplies and plans to head back up to Tok toward the end of next week.
Donations are being accepted on Sunday, Sept. 6 at Krystal Lloyd’s house at 422 Small Tracts Road between 2 to 5 p.m. In addition to the building supplies, stovepipes, furniture and household items Hunter identified, he said the group is also looking for small wood stoves and refrigerators.
A business in Juneau is donating 66 sheets of insulation, so Hunter is working on getting those transported to the Chilkat Valley. He plans to load that, and whatever donations are taken to Lloyd’s house, and head back to Tok at the end of next week.