I think Alaskans would be able to defend themselves just fine. As far as I know they ride bears to work and eat raw fish.

My sources may not be perfectly accurate all the time, though.

They'd be even more formidable if they rode fish to work and ate raw bears.

This building probably has more firearms in civilian hands than residents.

To my knowledge, EMP has killed precisely zero people in human history. I'd be curious as to why you think people living in a high-rise can't defend themselves.

Probably because an EMP would fry most electric devices? I'm not sure it would affect the heating (there's likely electricity involved, but I'm not sure how an EMP might affect it precisely), but the GP might have thought along those lines.

An EMP means we're at nuclear war with a superpower, and Alaskans likely defend themselves with guns, not lasers.

So the nuclear superpower at war with america thinks "Hey, should I launch this ICBM on LA or on this 200 people building in the middle of nowhere ?"

...what?