Mat-Su Valley rebuilds.

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 per week) by out-of-state builders requesting information regarding Alaska's contracting laws. To accommodate new builders pursuing contractors' licenses as a result of the fire, the state added an extra exam session in July. Testing for contractors is ordinarily done on a quarterly basis. Karlslyst says 20 people - all Alaska residents - were scheduled for the test.

One reason that an onslaught of builders may not materialize is that much of the burned-out area is inhabited by do-it-yourselfers. Tool vendors have reported increased sales in Wasilla. The first wave of fire-related sales centered on cleanup tools. As money became available from insurance companies or as victims secured financing through FEMA, sales switched to concrete, wiring and plumbing supplies.

"Everybody sold rakes and shovels in the beginning," says Curt Lindner, branch manager of Spenard Builders Supply in Wasilla. "Now it's shifting into a different dimension." Lindner says he has seen a "surge" in the sales of shop-grade plywood and utility-grade dimensional lumber as victims erect storage sheds or temporary housing while they rebuild.

Lindner says it's difficult to measure how much the forest fire has contributed to sales increases, however, because Spenard had planned on expanding its inventory this spring. "We've had a real strong year," he says. "We're just maintaining that strength." Part of that strength came from supplying contractors with lumber in a whirlwind reconstruction project after a March fire destroyed the 282-room Denali Princess Lodge near Denali National Park. "The Denali fire made us aware of getting to capacity fast," Lindner says.

Other local suppliers were increasing inventories with the long haul in mind. "I don't see how everybody would be able to rebuild because of existing contracts going on," says Tim Gillow, owner of U-Plumb-N-Save Inc. in Wasilla. "They say it takes a disaster to increase the economy. The economy was already good around here," he says.