Mat-Su Valley rebuilds.

• Author: Ess, Charlie
• Position: Big Lake, Alaska

The Valley rings with the sound of hammers as contractors and do-it-yourselfers repair the Miller's Reach fire damage.

Before the forest fire near Big Lake had even been put out, talk turned to the rebuilding boom that would follow.

In all, 344 buildings were lost as a result of the 37,000-acre blaze. About 210 of them were homes. At Horseshoe Lake, 16 homes and 23 other buildings were in the fire's indiscriminate path. A jet ski lay half-melted at the water's edge. Blackened water heaters stood sentinel among the charred remains of what had once been permanent homes or weekend getaways. Discolored sheets of steel roof lay strewn atop the rubble like playing cards. Most foundations cracked and will need replacing. "The heat draws moisture out of the blocks so fast, they explode," says Arnold Gagnon, a local contractor who has built foundations for 35 years.

The workload awaiting the construction trades increased dramatically in the Big Lake area. In mid-June, crews began hauling away charred logs, roots and stumps. In the weeks to come, the din of dozers, backhoes and trackhoes will replace the summer song of the loon.

But replacing the area's lost structures might require long-term thinking. Jobs generated in the aftermath of the fire have, in many instances, created a squeeze play for contractors, most of whom had already booked busy seasons on the calendar. Though the two men are related, Gagnon and Darryl Aafedt, of Bear Paw Masonry, usually work separately. But with some rescheduling in their summer workloads, they teamed up to pour the footings and lay the block for three homes near Big Lake. They hope to complete the foundation for each of the houses in less than three days. "It puts a lot of pressure on," says Aafedt, who had plenty of jobs lined up elsewhere. "You just do what you can." A widespread opinion among builders and suppliers is that it could take up to three years to replace the lost homes.

Amidst rumors that the rebuilding will bring an influx of contractors from the Lower 48, the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development's Division of Occupational Licensing hasn't seen an increase in the number of applicants for licenses - at least as of June 28. But Sue Karlslyst, a licensing examiner with the division, says she has noticed an increase in phone calls (about 20...