Smoke can be seen rising from areas scarred by the Swan Lake Fire on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 at Mile 10 of Skilak Loop Road, on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Smoke can be seen rising from areas scarred by the Swan Lake Fire on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 at Mile 10 of Skilak Loop Road, on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Loans available for businesses affected by Swan Lake Fire

Loans for fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and bills that can’t be paid because of the fire.

The federal government is offering disaster loans for local businesses impacted by the Swan Lake Fire, which has burned over 160,000 acres near Sterling.

After an Oct. 2 request from Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the U.S. Small Business Administration made a disaster declaration in response to the Swan Lake Fire, an Oct. 8 press release from Small Business Administration said.

In Cooper Landing, where the local economy relies heavily on summer tourism, local businesses were forced to shut their doors and cease services for much of the summer due to heavy smoke from the fire and impending evacuation notices.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The Small Business Administration’s Assistance is available to businesses in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Kodiak Island Borough, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Matanuska Susitna Borough, the Municipality of Anchorage, the Chugach Regional Educational Attendance Area, and the Iditarod Regional Educational Attendance Area.

“SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to assist Alaska small businesses with federal disaster loans,” Acting Administrator Chris Pilkerton said in the release. “We will be swift in our efforts to help these small businesses recover from the financial impacts of this disaster.”

The loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact, the release said.

“Disaster loans can provide vital economic assistance to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing,” Director Tanya N. Garfield of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West said in the press release.

Eligibility is based on the financial impact of the disaster only and not on any actual property damage. Loans have an interest rate of 4% for small businesses and 2.75% 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 is offering free counseling to assist businesses in their recovery. Businesses may contact the center’s director Cliff Cochran by emailing cliff.cochran@aksbdc.org or calling 907-260-5643 to schedule an appointment. The Kenai Peninsula Small Business Development Center is located at 43335 Kalifornsky Beach Road, Suite 12.

Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred, Garfield said in the release.

For more information about the disaster assistance, businesses can visit and apply at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Applicants can also call 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on 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.

More in News

Cars drive through the rain on the Warren Ames Memorial Bridge on Bridge Access Road over the swift Kenai River on Monday, Dec. 9, 2019, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
State Parks describes Kenai Peninsula projects slated for this summer

There are 11 projects described in a press release from the State Department of Natural Resources.

Professor of Process Technology Jeffrey Laube explains equipment to Kachemak Bay Campus Director Brian Partridge at a showcase of Kenai Peninsula College’s career and technical education programs in the college’s Career and Technical Center in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula College showcases career programs to Board of Regents

A group of KPC students were first to speak during the full board meeting Thursday afternoon.

Orion Willis, a student of Soldotna Montessori, holds up a rainbow trout he caught during Salmon in the Classroom ice fishing at Sport Lake in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Annual ADFG student ice fishing trip stymied by warm weather

Owing to continued warm weather, the annual Salmon in the Classroom ice… Continue reading

University of Alaska President Pat Pitney speaks during a meeting of the UA Board of Regents at Kenai Peninsula College in Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Pitney: UA, KPC seeing momentum, attendance growth

The university president described KPC as “a leader of the pack” in enrollment growth at the university

University of Alaska Board of Regents Chair Ralph Seekins speaks during a meeting at Kenai Peninsula College in Soldotna, Alaska, on Feb. 22, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Where does this end?’: University of Alaska to strip diversity and inclusivity language from programs, policies

The board was clear during the meeting that they were responding to pressure from the federal government.

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich holds a telephone town hall on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Screenshot from the Facebook page of U.S. Rep. Nick Begich)
Murkowski, Begich host telephone town halls to address constituent concerns

Both events were inaccessible to some, who grew frustrated at technical problems

Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, speaks on the House floor on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Education funding bill unexpectedly advances again, nears House floor vote amid affordability concerns

HB 69 clears Finance Committee at first hearing as minority says discussions there are not worthwhile.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai accepts federal grant for police vests

The funds entirely cover the purchase of three ballistic vests this fiscal year.

Soldotna High School student Ethan Anding asks a question during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development meeting at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
District discusses $17M deficit at community meeting

More than 100 people gathered in the KCHS auditorium.

Most Read