Sockeye Counts Average at Cape Wislow

Wednesday, June 19 2013


Sockeye Salmon, courtesy of ADF&G

The sockeye are running out at Cape Wislow, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is keeping a close eye on the numbers.

ADF&G set up a weir at McLees Lake on June 5, and has already counted 3,500 salmon making their way upstream. Assistant Area Management Biologist Nat Nichols says that’s a pretty average return for this time of year.

“About a third of the way to the lower end of our escapement goal. The goal is 10,000 to 60,000.”


Responders Put Out Fire on F/V Blue Pacific

Wednesday, June 12 2013


Coastal Transportation webcam

A fire broke out aboard the freezer longliner Blue Pacific Wednesday morning while it was tied up at the Coastal Transportation dock.

Public safety’s deputy chief, Michael Holman, says the fire appears to have been an accident. He says the source of the blaze was a space heater in the vessel’s hold, installed near pallets of a flammable packing material called “fiber.”


F/V Blue Pacific Catches Fire at Unalaska Dock

Wednesday, June 12 2013


Coastal Transportation webcam

Emergency responders converged on the Coastal Transportation dock this morning to put out a fire on the F/V Blue Pacific. The fire was caused by a space heater in the hold, where more than 10,000 pounds of waxed cardboard was stored for boxing and packing fish installed near pallets of paper bags for packing fish.

Unalaska’s firefighters received the emergency call around 8:30 a.m. They worked with state troopers and the Coast Guard to put out the fire in about two hours. No injuries have been reported, and the vessel’s crew was safely evacuated.


PenAir Passenger Treated for Mid-Flight Seizures

Monday, June 10 2013

Ambulances raced to Unalaska’s airport Sunday evening to meet a passenger who started to have seizures on a PenAir flight out of Anchorage.

Employees at the local PenAir station called 911, and emergency responders met the plane on the tarmac when it landed, at around 10:15 p.m. According to airport station manager Lowell Crezee, the patient was able to walk off the plane. Still, the person was taken to the Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic for treatment.


Public Safety Responds to Small Grass Fire

Wednesday, May 22 2013


Courtesy of Joe Redmon

Fire personnel responded to a small blaze in the valley this afternoon.

Senior fire captain Zac Schasteen says a caller reported that someone started a campfire at the bottom of General's Hill, but failed to properly supervise it.


Unalaska Experiences Short Power Outage

Tuesday, May 21 2013

An operator error down at the power plant caused a brief blackout in Unalaska.

Public utilities director Dan Winters says an employee was performing maintenance at about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday. The person tripped the wrong breaker, accidentally turning off a diesel engine in the process.

Winters says there isn’t any backup system for an outage like that. Employees restarted the engine, and then reset the town breakers. The lights were only out for 14 minutes. Most of town was affected, except for the East Point Road neighborhood and the area near the spit dock.


Public Safety Investigates Fast-Moving Tundra Fire

Monday, May 20 2013


Pipa Escalante/KUCB

Public safety is still investigating the cause of a rapidly-spreading tundra fire that broke out along the S-curves this weekend. 

The Ounalashka Corporation owned the land that caught on fire, just before 5 p.m. Saturday. Despite its proximity to Dutch Harbor post office and Gas 'n' Go, on Airport Beach Road, the blaze didn't jump to any nearby structures.


Emergency Responders Battle Tundra Fire

Saturday, May 18 2013


Pipa Escalante/KUCB

Firefighters responded to a fast-spreading tundra fire along the S-curves on Airport Beach Road Saturday afternoon.

The fire broke out just before 5 p.m. on a hilltop owned by the Ounalashka Corporation, next to the Dutch Harbor post office and Gas 'n' Go. No buildings were damaged, and no injuries were reported. But more than 100,000 square feet of tundra and grass burned up.


Unalaska Student Awarded Presidential Scholarship

Tuesday, May 07 2013

The U.S. Presidential Scholars program announced its finalists Monday, and an Unalaska City School senior is on the list. Aidan Bobbitt is one of just two students from Alaska to receive the recognition, and the first in the history of the school district.

The Presidential Scholars award recognizes students for outstanding academic and extracurricular achievement. Several thousand students who score exceptionally well on the SATs or ACTs are invited to apply to the program. From that pool, a committee selects two students from every state based on essays and transcripts.



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