JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A billionaire investor and former Republican candidate for governor has set up a $100,000 challenge grant to assist residents of a rural subdivision in western Wyoming affected by wildfire.

Foster Friess and his wife Lynn have pledged the matching amount in donations to the Lions Club of Wyoming.

The Lions Club has been raising money to help uninsured and underinsured residents who lost their homes near Bondurant.

The fire was reported mid-September in the Roosevelt Meadows area and spread rapidly across more than 96 square miles. It destroyed dozens of homes in the Hoback Ranches subdivision.

The funds will be distributed through an application process. A committee of residents from Bondurant, Pinedale and Jackson will review the applications.

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