At least 20 structures scorched by Tok wildfire near Alaska Highway

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A wildfire that roared to life Monday in the Interior Alaska community of Tok has damaged or destroyed at least 20 structures, officials say.

Authorities say a downed power line appears to have started the fire first reported in a backyard before noon Monday. Photos showed a massive column of gray-black smoke rising from the west side of Tok.

The Mukluk fire swelled from a half-acre to more than 1,500 within hours as strong southwest winds pushed the flames through neighborhoods toward the Tanana River. By Tuesday morning, the fire’s size was estimated at 3,000 acres, according to an update from the state Division of Forestry and Fire Protection.

About 20 structures were either damaged or destroyed, according to state fire information officer Emery Johnson. She couldn’t say how many of those structures were homes, cabins or outbuildings.

Additional structures remain threatened, officials said. It rained on the fire Monday evening but cleared Tuesday. A photo from the Three Bears store in Tok, where the company was founded in 1980, showed smoke columns picking up again.

Scores of people evacuated their properties Monday as the fire’s growth exploded. State fire officials and Alaska State Troopers going door-to-door urged residents to leave.

A number of residents reporting lost homes or cabins by Tuesday.

Josh Christianson and Brittany Ward lost their home and everything but the clothes on their backs to the fire, friend Shannon Pratt said. Ward and their 1-year-old were at home when she heard a noise and looked out the window and saw flames, Pratt said in a message Tuesday: “She grabbed the baby and ran out the door.”

Christianson said the family spent the night in Fairbanks gathering essential items and gathering their thoughts. They were headed back to Tok on Tuesday.

Kyle Mercure said he had just rebuilt an existing cabin and finished building another guest cabin with his parents when the fire swept through and destroyed both.

His parents spent one night in their cabin before it burned.

“In a single day, we lost our homes, our belongings, and the basic things we depended on every day,” Mercure wrote in an online fundraiser he posted Tuesday. “We are still in shock and trying to understand what to do next.”

He said in a message that the property remained shrouded by smoke Tuesday.

Evacuations remained in place Tuesday for an area north of the Alaska Highway from Mackenzie Trail to East Fifth Street, including Red Fox Drive. Authorities warned people not to enter the fire area or evacuation zone, warning of risks from fire, downed power lines, falling trees and hidden ash pits.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy verbally declared a state disaster emergency for the Alaska Gateway area, including Tok, as a result of the fire, according to a state emergency management update Tuesday. The declaration authorizes both public and individual assistance programs. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also approved a declaration that reimburses the state for eligible fire suppression costs, state officials say.

A Type 3 incident management team has been ordered and is en route to Tok to assist with fire response coordination, according to Tuesday’s state emergency management update. The state’s emergency operations center deployed a division supervisor to the Tok area to support the community and Tanana Chiefs Conference response efforts, officials say.

Five people spent the night at an American Red Cross of Alaska shelter at Tok School when Johnson left there at midnight, she said. Many other evacuees are staying in RVs in town or with friends and family outside the fire zone.

Another shelter at Tok Dog Mushers Association Hall is being used for people picking up or dropping off supplies.

Tok, an unincorporated community of about 1,400 residents within 100 miles of the Canadian border, sits at the junction of the Alaska Highway and the 125-mile Tok cutoff connecting travelers with Glennallen, Valdez and Anchorage.

Alaska’s fire season has been fairly moderate this year even as the Lower 48 experiences an overwhelming season that’s stretched the capacity of crews to fight large destructive blazes in multiple states. Numerous Alaska wildland crews based in the state are deployed in Washington, Montana and Oregon.

A helicopter, nine smoke jumpers, a wildland crew and local fire departments made up the initial attack on the Tok fire early Monday afternoon. Fire managers rushed additional resources to the area.

An air tanker capable of dropping retardant was recalled from Washington on Monday to return to Alaska and work the Tok fire. Several Southcentral Alaska departments, including those in Girdwood and Chugiak, sent engines to Tok on Monday.

Resources including a wildland crew from Chevak continued to arrive Monday night, according to an update on the Alaska Fire Information site.

Both highways remained open.

Tuesday is Alaska’s primary election day. State elections officials said in a social media post that the Tok Senior Center opened for voting at 7 a.m.

Numerous businesses were accepting donations or supplying clothes for evacuees on Tuesday. Volunteers served food including breakfast at both evacuation shelters.

Officials said it wasn’t clear when property owners could return to homes and cabins.

_____