10/14/19 FIREWISE Cooper Landing AK and The Swan Lake Fire

Is your property Firewise? Have you created a minimum 30-foot defensible space to protect your home for the wildland fire season? During the Swan Lake Fire 2019, firefighters did a lot of work in a short period of time to remove hazardous fuels in Cooper Landing. Homeowners that completed Firewise measures last year needed little to no assistance. Properties that were already Firewise helped fire crews' efforts to meet structure protection objectives in other areas of the community. Learn how these determined residents completed Firewise measures around their homes before the wildfire season in #CooperLanding #KenaiPeninsulaBorough #Alaska

10/08/2019 U.S. Small Business Administration Offers Disaster Assistance to AK Small Businesses Economically Impacted by the Swan Lake Fire

The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses economically impacted by the Swan Lake Fire that began June 5, 2019. The deadline to apply for economic injury is July 8, 2020.  Download the full announcement at https://tinyurl.com/SBA-AK16148.

The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Chugach REAA, Iditarod Area REAA, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Kodiak Island Borough, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough; and the Municipality of Anchorage.

Eligibility is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage. These loans have an interest rate of 4 percent for small businesses and 2.75 percent for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years and are restricted to small businesses without the financial ability to offset the adverse impact without hardship.

The Kenai Peninsula Small Business Development Center located at 43335 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite 12, Soldotna, AK  99669 is offering free, personalized counseling to help affected businesses in their recovery. Businesses may contact Center Director Cliff Cochran by emailing cliff.cochran@aksbdc.org or calling (907) 260-5643 to schedule an appointment.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX  76155.

The deadline to apply for economic injury is July 8, 2020.

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has lifted most of the area closure except for those areas burned in the Swan Lake Fire.

The Kenai National Wildlife Refuge has lifted most of the area closure except for those areas burned in the Swan Lake Fire.

Great news for outdoor enthusiasts as we enter the first week of October and the fire management returns to the local Division of Forestry. 

As of today, the Kenai NWR is opening Vista Trail, Doroshin Bay Cabin, Hidden Lake and Hidden Lake Campground and East Fork Moose River in addition to what we previously opened. The closure area is also being reduced to the fire perimeter. Skilak Lake Road, Upper and Lower Skilak Roads and the Kenai River remain open for access through the closed area. Trapper Joe Cabin and Big Indian Cabin remain closed just because we cannot provide access via Mystery Creek Road. Upper and Lower Skilak Campgrounds remain closed even though they are outside the burn perimeter until we can remove the beetle killed trees in these two areas. We expect to open these campgrounds by mid-October. Marsh Lake Trail remains closed because it crosses into the burn area.

Final Video Update from the Swan Lake Fire, October 1, 2019

Swan Lake Fire to Transition to local Kenai Kodiak Forestry Office 

Effective the morning of Wednesday, October 2, 2019

The #SwanLakeFire will transition to the local Kenai Kodiak Office tomorrow (Oct. 2, 2019) morning. This video covers the final messages from Zane Brown, Type 3 Team Incident Commander, Dan Osborn, Operations Section Chief, and Darren Finely, Plans Chief and Prevention Officer with the Alaska Division of Forestry. They give an update of what the Alaska Type 3 team has achieved since they have had control over the fire. They also go over the transition to the local Kenai Kodiak Forestry Office to continue with any suppression or repair needs that need to be conducted in the future.

There are still areas that are unsafe for people to be in. The area will maintain its current closures throughout the winter until deemed safe to return. That information will be released by the appropriate agency when that decision has been made. Please be safe traveling in the area.

Thank you to all the cooperating agencies: US Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Alaska Division of Forestry, US Forest Service, Alaska State Parks, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Central Emergency Services, Cooper Landing Volunteer Fire Department, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Department of Transportation, Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

For any further information moving forward please contact:
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6387/
Email: tim.mowry@alaska.gov
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kpbalerts/
Alaska Fire Info: https://akfireinfo.com
Public Information Phone: (907) 356 -5511
Kenai Peninsula Borough: http://kpboem.com/
Kenai National Wildlife Refuge:https://www.fws.gov/refuge/kenai/

Final Video Update Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FUguzuhEHE