A fall at a remote Alaska lighthouse turned an injury into a helicopter rescue

A tourist visiting the historic light station in Lynn Canal, north of Juneau, fell and badly hurt her hip Monday evening — and because the island has no roads, no bridge, and no way in or out except by boat or air, getting her to a hospital took a helicopter flight to Juneau. Troopers got the call around 6 p.m.

That isolation is part of what draws people to Sentinel Island in the first place. The light station, on the National Register of Historic Places and cared for by the Gastineau Channel Historical Society, pulls visitors out into Lynn Canal for lighthouse tours and wildlife viewing.