FEMA Authorizes Funds to Fight Bear Creek Fire in Alaska

BOTHELL, Wash. –  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Bear Creek Fire burning in the Denali Borough, Alaska. 

The state of Alaska’s request for a declaration under FEMA’s Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) program was approved by FEMA Region 10 Acting Administrator Vincent J. Maykovich on Monday, June 23, 2025, at 3:33 a.m. PT. He determined that the Bear Creek Fire threatened to cause such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. This is the first FMAG declaration in 2025 to help fight Alaska wildfires. 

At the time of the state’s request, the wildfire threatened homes in and around the communities of Healy, Ferry, Clear and Anderson, as well as the Clear Space Force Base. The fire was also threatening highways, electrical utilities, parks, commercial sites, a watershed, fishing streams and spawning sites, wildlife, and environmental and cultural resources. 

FMAGs make funding available to pay up to 75 percent of a state’s eligible firefighting costs for fires that threaten to become major disasters. Eligible items can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, materials, supplies and mobilization and demobilization activities attributed to fighting the fire. These grants do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.