How Alaska manages disasters — and how legislators can help without getting in the way

Brian Fisher, director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, told a legislative “Lunch and Learn” that when disasters strike Alaska the response follows a sequence of local action, state support and — sometimes — federal reimbursement.

“That really opens up the state's checkbook,” Fisher said, describing how a governor’s state disaster declaration triggers access to the state disaster relief fund and can lead to a joint preliminary damage assessment with FEMA to seek supplemental federal assistance.

Why it matters: Alaska’s mix of state programs, tribal authorities and municipal emergency operations means the first days after a disaster are largely local. Legislators and their staff can be helpful voice-amplifiers for accurate information, provide on-the-ground intelligence to state decision-makers, and press federal partners — but should avoid interfering with immediate life‑safety operations, officials said.

Fisher and other presenters walked participants through the “disaster life cycle” used in Alaska. Local authorities usually declare a local disaster first; that triggers emergency procurement and field response. State teams collect information and may recommend a state declaration to the governor, which “opens up the state's checkbook” and allows forward-funded state assistance. If damage meets federal thresholds and the president declares a federal disaster, FEMA provides supplemental reimbursement — typically no less than about 75% of eligible costs with the state covering roughly 25% for the eligible activities, Fisher said.

Fisher gave several concrete clarifications about what Alaska’s individual assistance covers. The state program currently provides roughly $22,000 for housing repairs to a primary residence, about the same amount for “other needs” (replacement of essential personal property), and temporary housing support of up to 18 months for homeowners and three months for renters. All state assistance is applied after insurance pays, Fisher said, and he noted that state law does not provide broad disaster relief for small businesses; that role often falls to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Officials discussed damage thresholds and cadence of disasters. Fisher said the state’s public‑infrastructure monetary threshold for pursuing federal assistance is about $1.5 million in a district, and that Alaska averages roughly one declared disaster per month and still has about 65 open disasters from the last decade currently in recovery.

Robert Barr, deputy city manager for the City and Borough of Juneau, and Sabrina Grubitz, public safety manager for Tlingit and Haida, described local and tribal incident command practice: stand up a scalable Emergency Operations Center using Incident Command System roles, prioritize saving life and property, and coordinate messaging. Grubitz urged outreach to tribes during response because “Tribes can be assets to emergency response,” noting tribal communication systems like Everbridge that can reach enrolled citizens.

On communications, Barr and Fisher urged elected officials to act as a vetted “megaphone” for official messages from municipal, tribal or state incident command. “I would ask that that information flow, just be validated and vetted before you go ahead and send that out to your constituents,” Fisher said, noting the harm misinformation can cause during evacuations and sheltering. Juneau officials described using IPAWS and Everbridge to push geographically targeted alerts.

Officials cautioned against common pitfalls. Do not call incident commanders with tactical suggestions while rescues are under way, and avoid going to a scene during active operations unless invited; such actions can create safety hazards and slow response. “I am the receiver of good ideas,” Angela LaFlamme, legislative liaison for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said, asking legislators to text or call the state EOC staff with suggested tactics rather than trying to direct field crews.

What legislators can do: staff and lawmakers can collect and forward accurate damage reports to the governor’s office and to the state EOC to support a declaration recommendation; use their constituent networks to amplify official alerts and route survivors to trusted relief organizations; and, when appropriate, advocate to the congressional delegation for federal assistance. Officials also encouraged support for state disaster funding and for local grant applications such as HUD CDBG-DR, Army Corps preliminary studies, and other mitigation grants.

Fisher closed with preparedness resources and contact points: ready.alaska.gov and the State Emergency Operations Center email (seoc@ready.alaska.gov).