North Slope Borough Assembly member presses mayor, fire chief over Utqiaġvik lagoon death

North Slope Borough Assembly member Avayak Bernal questioned Mayor Josiah Patkotak and fire officials Tuesday about training and equipment after a young man died in a Utqiaġvik lagoon. Bernal said it took almost 30 minutes to get him out of a shallow part of the lagoon.

Bernal said fire training money was almost zeroed out two years ago and equipment money was zeroed out this year. He said there are still no barricades around the lagoon and asked for more lighting, barricades and education in schools.

"The borough lost its legal ability to formally do state-accredited training in about 2020," Patkotak said. The borough got accreditation back in 2025, he said. Larger equipment can be bought with capital or supplemental money, he said, from a contingency budget of about $20 million.

"It is a big failure to have that type of situation happen," Fire Chief Nyakop said. He said the department is young in age and experience and is looking into the incident.

Assembly member Chalmer Panik suggested a bridge to let water flow through the lagoon. Patkotak said a storm before the death damaged the causeway under the road, and the borough is working with Public Works on replacing it.