Public Safety
RSSAlaska News tracks public safety coverage including law enforcement operations, emergency response, regulatory enforcement.
Trail runner injured by brown bear near Anchorage's Prospect Heights trailhead
A woman running alone on Wolverine Bowl trail near Anchorage was injured by a brown bear Thursday, deployed bear spray, and walked out; she was hospitalized and the bear was not located.
by Maggie AlaskaNews16h ago2 min readAI
Anchorage pushes for an emergency boat launch on Turnagain Arm after a drowning
After a drowning where rescuers had no way to launch a boat, Anchorage is pushing for federal money to build an emergency water-access point on Turnagain Arm.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago4 min readAI
Ben Le, missing since a hike at Port Armstrong on Aug. 10, was found dead at the bottom of a cliff
A hiker missing near Port Armstrong since Monday is being searched by crews that added a thermal drone team Wednesday morning after ground and aerial searches found no sign of him.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
State alert says Delta Junction trench that killed two had no cave-in protection
Two Delta Junction workers died in a 13-foot trench with no cave-in protection, violating federal safety standards that require protective systems in excavations deeper than 5 feet.
by Lucas Brown15h ago3 min readAI
A viral claim about a Zuckerberg yacht and a Coast Guard call remains unverified
An unverified viral claim says a Zuckerberg-linked yacht ignored a Coast Guard call for a stranded Southeast skiff. The Coast Guard hasn't confirmed any of it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago2 min readAI
Anchorage orders outside police use-of-force review after sixth officer-involved shooting this year
Anchorage will hire an outside investigator to review police use of force after an officer shot someone on Debarr Road, the sixth officer-involved shooting in the city this year.
by Walter AlaskaNews22h ago2 min readAI
Mat-Su sex offender sweep produces 17 arrests, 15 of them for registration violations
Alaska State Troopers arrested 17 people during a three-day sex offender compliance sweep in the Mat-Su Valley but located only 60 of 100 registered offenders targeted for checks.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago1 min readAI
Former Anchorage Assembly member Karen Bronga killed in Sterling Highway crash
Former Anchorage Assembly member Karen Bronga passed away in a vehicular accident on July 24
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Troopers arrest Charles Yingst in Big Lake on warrants topping $2 million
Alaska State Troopers arrested Charles Yingst in Big Lake on Wednesday on warrants totaling more than $2 million for fraud and escape charges.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago1 min readAI
Anchorage is considering expanding its surveillance network. The privacy rules are still a draft.
Anchorage votes Tuesday on $1.4M for police, including a surveillance center that logs cars, faces and movement — paid for with seized cash and federal money that never reaches the public budget, in the rare state whose constitution promises a right to privacy.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAI
Alaska 511 logs a fire investigation labeled EAGLE with coordinates near Juneau, not Eagle
Alaska 511 opened a wildfire investigation near Eagle on Thursday with no acreage or cause confirmed yet.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago1 min readAINorth Riverside Drive in Juneau restricted to local traffic over flooding risk
Alaska 511 has North Riverside Drive near Pinedale Street in Juneau open to local traffic only until further notice, covering the Riverside Baptist Church and Riverside Condos areas, while NWS Juneau's flood warning runs until 4:30 a.m. Friday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min readAI
Troopers arrest Unalakleet man on child sexual abuse and burglary charges
Troopers arrested a 22-year-old Unalakleet man Monday on charges of child sexual abuse and burglary after residents found an unclothed minor in their home July 25. Bail is set at $200,000.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAIA visiting angler was found dead in the Kenai River near Sterling
A 71-year-old Georgia man who came to fish the Kenai River was found dead near a Sterling boat ramp Friday. Troopers say nothing suspicious has been found.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Motorcyclist killed in left-turn crash at Geist and Loftus in Fairbanks
A motorcyclist died Saturday at the intersection of Geist Road and Loftus Road in Fairbanks after colliding with a vehicle turning left.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
A pilot survives an upside-down plane crash in the Kenai refuge
A pilot survived a crash that flipped his plane upside down in the trees of the Kenai refuge Sunday, then texted 911 himself to say he wasn't seriously hurt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
Troopers arrest nine on drug charges during Salmonfest in Ninilchik
Troopers arrested nine at Salmonfest, eight on felony drug distribution charges, though the dispatch names no one and gives no drug quantities.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Smokejumpers contained the McCloud Fire at one acre, and found a lost person during the initial attack
Eight smokejumpers and two helicopters responded Wednesday to a half-acre fire burning 12.5 miles west of Fox, with no structures threatened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
Fairbanks borough moves to study rural emergency coverage it flagged in 2018
A 2018 borough plan flagged spotty rural emergency coverage around Fairbanks. Seven years on, the borough is finally moving to study a fix — one that could redraw who covers whom.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive, her dog by her side
A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive five miles off a trail, her dog beside her the whole time, having chased off a bear at one point.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Kasilof man, 87, dies after Sterling Highway collision near Cohoe Loop
An 87-year-old Kasilof man has died after a two-vehicle crash on the Sterling Highway, days after he turned into the path of an oncoming minivan.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago1 min readAI
Tatlanika Fire smoke reaches Fairbanks, 39 miles away
Smoke from the Tatlanika Fire, burning 982 acres 39 miles southwest of Fairbanks, is now visible in Fairbanks and Nenana, though no structures are threatened in its limited-response zone.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Burn permits suspended in Fairbanks, Delta and Tok areas
Alaska Division of Forestry suspended burn permits in Fairbanks, Delta and Tok areas starting Wednesday due to critical fire conditions, with no end date set.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2d ago4 min readAI
Crews deploy to protect Native allotment near Tatlanika Fire
A remote Alaska fire left to burn has grown nearly 30-fold to 28,168 acres and now threatens a single Native allotment, drawing 14 firefighters to protect it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Alaska joins the EMS Compact on Sept. 20, but nobody can work under it yet
Alaska joins an interstate EMS compact on Sept. 20. Paramedics from member states may soon work here without a new license.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min readAI
Woman killed, two juveniles critically hurt in crash at Northern Lights and UAA Drive
An adult woman died and two juvenile passengers were taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after a collision at E Northern Lights Blvd and UAA Drive early Tuesday, the Anchorage Police Department said. Police are seeking surveillance footage.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Driver escapes uninjured after vehicle overturns and burns on Steese Highway in Fox
Burning vehicle, scary when you're the one in it. Pretty wild when you're a person coming across it and you're not at risk of being burned.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
Betting apps take bets in Alaska as a Senate panel weighs the fallout
Prediction-market apps are taking sports bets in Alaska, where betting isn't legal. How much you wanna bet that it sticks around?
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
A hiker was carried off a Hatcher Pass trail, the second rescue there this summer
An incapacitated hiker was carried off a Hatcher Pass trail Thursday by four agencies — the second rescue on the same demanding route this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4d ago1 min readAI
Troopers issue Silver Alert for missing 73-year-old near Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers are searching for Rodney Rutherford, 73, last seen at 11:30 p.m. Friday near 4805 Murphy Dome Road outside Fairbanks. Troopers ask anyone with information to call the Fairbanks post at 907-451-5100.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
A missing Wasilla man was found alive in a car in Delta Junction
A Wasilla man missing since July 21 was found alive in Delta Junction — in a car that had sat parked for nearly a day before anyone checked.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Troopers: Fairbanks man, 79, injured in Old Nenana Highway motorcycle crash
A 79-year-old Fairbanks man was injured Wednesday in a motorcycle crash on Old Nenana Highway and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Wrangell-St. Elias closes section of Root Glacier Trail after landslide risk found
Wrangell-St. Elias closed part of Root Glacier Trail after geologists found landslide risk on the moraine, blocking access during peak summer season with no alternate route yet available.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
College student airlifted off Resurrection Pass after allergic reaction 14 miles in
An 18-year-old visiting student was airlifted off Resurrection Pass 14 miles from the trailhead after an allergic reaction left him unable to breathe. A military crew flew him to Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
Missing Craig hunter found alive on Prince of Wales Island
61-year-old Craig hunter who turned back alone on Red Bay Mountain was lost overnight, then found alive early Saturday and flown to Petersburg.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Fairbanks man killed after trooper opens fire during early-morning pursuit
Alaska State Trooper shot and killed a man in Fairbanks early Monday after a 90-second vehicle pursuit ended on a dead-end street and the driver turned toward the officer. • This is the second officer-involved fatality in Fairbanks in two weeks. • The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is conducting the investigation; the Office of Special Prosecutions will independently review findings.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Two teenagers die in head-on dirt bike collision on Prince of Wales Island
Two teenagers, Greyer Schwegel, 18, and Paul Lingley IV, 17, died in a head-on dirt bike collision on the Hollis Highway on Prince of Wales Island Tuesday evening.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Fatal crash at Glenn Highway S Curves kills two, closes corridor Thursday morning
A Ford F150 crossed the median at Glenn Highway S Curves on Thursday morning, killing two drivers and sending a child to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Helicopter sinks in Chelatna Lake; bystander pulls both survivors from water
A helicopter sank in Chelatna Lake near Skwentna on Sunday after a boater pulled both occupants from the water; both survived with minor injuries.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Prius driver airlifted after T-bone crash at Moose Pass highway junction
A Prius driver ran a stop sign at Moose Pass and was hit by a semi-truck Sunday, requiring helicopter evacuation and closing both highways.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
