The state of Alaska is transitioning hundreds of people evacuated to Anchorage from Western Alaska out of mass shelters and into hotel rooms. Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson for the state’s emergency response, said the goal is to get everyone moved by the end of the week.
“We realize that having people in those big group settings and the congregate shelters is not ideal,” he said. “People can't stay in that environment for a prolonged period of time. So we're glad to be moving folks out.”
There were more than 300 people sleeping on cots at the mass shelters at the Alaska Airlines Center and the Egan Center as of Monday.
Zidek said the state is doing everything it can to keep families together as they move into hotel rooms around the city. While in the hotels, people will continue to receive three meals a day, provided by organizations like the Salvation Army, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the Food Bank of Alaska. The Anchorage School District will continue to bus children to school who recently enrolled in the district. Various organizations will visit evacuees in the hotels to provide ongoing logistical, medical and behavioral health support.
Zidek said the hotel stays are only temporary.
He hopes some people will be able to move back to their communities soon. The state and partner organizations are racing to fix up homes in Western Alaska before it gets too cold.
But he said it’s not going to be possible for everyone to return. Some people’s houses were completely destroyed.
“Our preference is really to put people back in their community, or at least put them back into the region that they're from,” he said. “But if we can't do that, we have to find safe housing over the winter.”
Zidek said the Alaska Housing Finance Corp., a state agency that helps develop housing, is working to find temporary homes around the state. If you have places for people to stay, such as micro-units, apartments or hotels and would like to help house evacuees, email EOCServiceBranchDir@anchorageak.gov.
