Sheep Creek Lodge owner discusses relief efforts following McKinley Fire’s one year anniversary

WASILLA — Aug. 17 marked the one-year anniversary of the McKinley Fire, which displaced numerous Upper Susitna households.

Over 50 homes in the Upper Susitna area were destroyed by the fire, prompting wave after wave of philanthropy from individuals, families, nonprofits and business owners donating their time, energy and resources to help rebuild from the ashes.

Sheep Creek Lodge has been involved with relief efforts since the onset. They offered free meals and other support to firefighters as they fought the flames. The lodge served a key role in first responders’ efforts, serving as a staging area for all the vehicles.

“We definitely did try,” Sheep Creek Lodge owner Jessie Zimmerly said.

Like many buildings at the time, Sheep Creek Lodge was without power for several days. After the fire was finally extinguished, they held several community barbecues with their remaining food supplies. Zimmerly said they lost most of their food to the outage, but they were able to give out a lot of meals.

“We did the first ones with headlamps,” Zimmerly said with a laugh.

Once they were able to reopen, Sheep Creek Lodge staff started raising funds for fire victims and have been supporting rebuild efforts ever since. Zimmerly said they recently hosted the volunteer group who came up from the Lower 48. She noted they plan to do more fundraising in the fall.

Zimmerly said they’re working to get their new nonprofit off the ground. Ladies of the Lodge will be a subsect of the lodge, serving as a nonprofit relief group that will support members of the community in a variety of ways, starting with McKinley Fire victims.

She said the fire may have wreaked a lot of havoc in people’s lives, but ultimately brought everyone together into a more tight knit, and prepared community than ever before.

“It kind of set the template for how the community responds to disasters in general now...Now we know how to deal with the unknown,” Zimmerly said. “What I like is we’re always able to have a good time no matter what’s thrown at us.”

Most of the people who live in the rural reaches of the Upper Susitna share a common appreciation for the balance of having room to be alone while being able to mingle with their neighbors at central locations like the Sheep Creek Lodge. Zimmerly said they hold a Power Out Party every April with the community.

“Out here, you just do what you can and make traditions of the fun things,” Zimmerly said. “People work hard out here, and really, people work too hard to be anything but genuine… We like weird… The barter system is still alive. It’s just a different way of living out here… People look out for your neighbors, but it’s a live and let live community.”

Zimmerly runs the lodge with her mother Molly Crawford. She said they moved to the area from Anchorage. October marks six years in the community.

“And we’re not looking back,” Zimmerly said with a laugh. “I plan on spending my life out here. This is our home. These are our people.”

Several community members formed the McKinley Fire Long Term Recovery Group, aided by United Way and other sections of the community like firefighters and Mat-Su Borough officials. They all share the same goal, to further disaster relief efforts.

United Way is currently working with 19 families who lost everything with no insurance, and over 20 families that weren’t hit as hard but still in need of assistance. They’ve helped move in a family of nine and helped Tows R Us deliver a portable donated by the Fairview Baptist Church.

For more information on how to support United Way’s efforts aiding McKinley Fire victims, call 907-373-5807 or visit unitedwaymatsu.org/uwms/help-mckinley-fire-survivors-rebuild-this-summer.

To contact the Sheep Creek Lodge, call 907-495-6227.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com