Update 10:30 p.m.:

The McKinley and Deshka Landing fires are still roaring, with fire officials reporting little to no progress with containment. On Tuesday, the Mat-Su Borough signed a Disaster Declaration in an effort to handle the economic impacts of these fires.

Governor Dunleavy has accepted the borough’s declaration, which frees up federal disaster reimbursement funding, covering up to 75 percent of the borough's emergency response costs. It’s now a matter of waiting for that funding to come in. The governor will need to decide whether to initiate a proclamation of a state disaster emergency, which would free up state money and resources to respond to the fires.

"It doesn't look like we're getting rain anytime soon. So this is not over," Borough Mayor Vern Halter said to a crowded room of concerned residents in Willow Tuesday afternoon.

"The immediate trauma that fires cause, and the long-term trauma … I'm just sad for Willow, the Mat-Su Borough, and everything ... that we've got to go through this again,” Halter said, referring to the 2015 Sockeye Fire which burned over 7,200 acres in a nearby area.

Residents asked borough and fire officials questions about traffic wait times, and how to find out if their homes are okay; the short answer was they will have to wait at least another two days while crews assess the damage. Borough officials will contact families when the assessment is complete.

While some residents are currently evacuated and seeking refuge in shelters, others have remained safely outside of the fire's destructive path. Mary Fugate, who has lived in Willow for over ten years, says an event of this magnitude impacts everyone in Willow and the surrounding area.

"It's absolutely devastating and heartbreaking," Fugate said, standing outside Willow Elementary School with her young son strapped to her back.

She was 7-months pregnant when her family evacuated their home due to the Sockeye Fire. So far, her home is safe -- but other families and friends of hers have not been so fortunate.

"Firefighters that are fighting the fire right now, and their families, have been evacuated," Fugate said. "I've had friends that their dad has lost everything ... It's absolutely devastating, what's happening."

Fugate is pleading to the state to help her community by declaring a state disaster.

"I think that it's going to give us the necessary equipment and stuff that we need to get this fire out as soon as possible," Fugate said.

The Mat-Su Borough Assembly met Tuesday evening to discuss the disaster declaration. Borough Manager John Moosey says he's confident it will prompt both federal and state funding. If it doesn't, he says, wildfires are expensive.

“Without that reimbursement funding, a good portion of that falls on our local fire service areas,” Moosey said. “It would be a big burden."

The Office of the Governor confirmed Tuesday they're checking to see when a state disaster declaration might be made so they can get more resources aimed at these fires.