Public Safety
RSSAlaska News tracks public safety coverage including law enforcement operations, emergency response, regulatory enforcement.
One new rural Alaska prosecutor, against deep tribal-justice cuts
The DOJ is adding one rural Alaska prosecutor while proposing to cut the budgets that fund tribal police and victim services by roughly a quarter.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Kodiak weighs sounding its tsunami sirens the moment a warning hits
Kodiak may set its tsunami sirens to sound the instant a warning hits, and let dispatch trigger them on local signs before any federal alert arrives.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Fatigue blamed in a Parks Highway rollover near Cantwell
A tired Florida driver rolled her vehicle near Cantwell on Thursday, the latest in a summer of crashes and closures on the Parks Highway. Injuries were minor.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
North Slope Police shooting in Utqiagvik under state investigation
North Slope Borough police shot and killed a 25-year-old Utqiagvik man early Thursday. State investigators say he pointed a rifle at officers.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Woman arrested on DUI charge after driving into a North Pole business
A woman drove through the wall of a North Pole business just after noon Thursday and was arrested on a DUI charge, Alaska State Troopers said.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Two women reported overdue near Glennallen were, per troopers, 'just out enjoying Alaska'
Two women reported overdue near Glennallen turned out to be perfectly fine — or as the trooper dispatch put it, they "were just out enjoying Alaska."
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
85 mph on a stretch of road marked for its fatal crashes
Troopers say a Sterling man ran his dirtbike 85 in a 45 — on a stretch of the Sterling Highway flagged for its fatal crashes — then briefly declined to pull over.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Seth Whiteman, 22, dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay
Seth Whiteman, 22, of Eagle River went overboard near Egegik Bay on June 29 and was not wearing a life jacket. His body was recovered from a nearby beach on July 11.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Crews are cutting firebreaks in the woods at the center of Anchorage
Three Campbell Tract trail segments are closed through July 25 while crews trim the firebreaks keeping a wildfire out of Anchorage's neighborhoods.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sitka crosswalk art project brings morning delays to Lincoln Street starting Thursday
Volunteers paint decorative crosswalk art on Lincoln Street in Sitka Thursday and Friday mornings, expect delays as part of a pedestrian safety project.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage cited 36 for-hire drivers for unlicensed operation, denied 9 licenses for barrier crimes
Anchorage cited 36 for-hire drivers for operating without valid licenses and denied 9 applicants for crimes including sexual assault and drug offenses between 2025 and July 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Brown bear injures hiker on Bear Valley trail above south Anchorage
A brown bear injured a hiker on a social trail above Bear Valley in south Anchorage on Saturday, prompting Fish and Game to post warning signs and urge hikers to travel in groups and carry bear spray.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read
Three DUI arrests in one day span Kenai Peninsula and Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers arrested three drivers on DUI charges Saturday, two on the Kenai Peninsula and one in Fairbanks, after crashes that injured multiple people.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Copper River dip netters stranded on sandbar near Chitina, self-rescue before troopers arrive
Dip netters stranded on a Copper River sandbar near Chitina self-rescued Friday before troopers arrived.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Konedsin Minnkohwin Fire burns within Kanuti refuge near Allakaket
Lightning sparked a 200-acre fire in Kanuti refuge near Allakaket, with firefighters protecting cabins and fish camps instead of suppressing the main blaze.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks water scoopers were on practice flight, not a new fire
Four water scoopers flew a practice mission over Fairbanks on Friday to keep pilots sharp, not to fight a new fire.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Hillside neighborhood demands expedited chipping days as municipal contracting stalls
Hillside residents demand the Municipality speed up brush chipping before fire season peaks, citing stalled contracting and uncleared piles in the wildland-urban interface.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Shishmaref man charged with running moonshine still in dry community
A Shishmaref man faces five felony counts for operating a moonshine still and selling alcohol in the dry community, with potential exposure of 25 years in prison if convicted.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Sitka police tag 27 vehicles in abandoned-car crackdown since May
Sitka police have tagged 27 abandoned vehicles since May, removing 15 and giving owners up to 60 days to move or fix them before the city disposes of the car at their expense.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Borough holds public hearing on Ouzinkie tsunami shelter rezone
Kodiak Island Borough Assembly held a public hearing July 16 on rezoning an Ouzinkie parcel to house the community's tsunami shelter and tribal offices.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
North Slope Borough to seek $300K for second underwater rescue drone after Nuvuk response exposed gaps
North Slope Borough mayor seeks $300,000 for a second underwater rescue drone after a recent response left a volunteer behind due to equipment weight limits.
by Lucas Brown2mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly to hear third version of public safety commission ordinance July 21
Anchorage Assembly will hear a third version of a public safety commission ordinance July 21, restoring an advisory forum vacant since January 2024.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage weighs $528,000 for addiction, homelessness, and disability care
Anchorage is set to accept ~$528,000 in grants for opioid treatment, homeless outreach, and disability services — the last one patching three years of state funding cuts.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A fall at a remote Alaska lighthouse turned an injury into a helicopter rescue
A tourist badly hurt her hip at the historic Sentinel Island lighthouse near Juneau and got a helicopter flight out. Kinda a two birds with one stone thing
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Juneau's new casino, and the land the city can't reach
Juneau's first casino opened on sovereign Native allotment land, through a legal door ANCSA was built to close and the courts haven't settled. The city can't even regulate it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A fire no one is fighting has been fouling Fairbanks' air for weeks
Alaska's letting the Tatlanika Fire burn on purpose — too remote to be worth fighting — but its smoke has been parked over Fairbanks and Nenana for weeks anyway.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage keeps deferring a public safety commission it can't agree on
Anchorage's proposed public safety commission got punted again — stuck on whether it should actually have power, what it would cost, and what problem it's even solving.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
Northern Alaska's staffed wildfires wind down, but crews brace for more
Rain did what the crews couldn't and mopped up northern Alaska's last staffed fires — though with 2,000 lightning strikes a day, nobody's putting the shovels away.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A tip about a truck running over seagulls ended in a DUI arrest at Kasilof
A tip about a truck running over seagulls at Kasilof Beach led troopers to a Fairbanks man now facing DUI, weapons, and a federal migratory-bird charge.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min read
Mat-Su moves to clean up 'forever chemicals' in its groundwater
The Mat-Su Borough wants $400K to clean up "forever chemicals" in its groundwater — traced to old firefighting foam and found this spring near a Wasilla elementary school.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Wasilla man dies after fleeing troopers at 100 mph following domestic assault
A Wasilla man died Saturday after fleeing state troopers at 100 mph following a domestic assault call.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A wildfire flared within a mile of the pipeline — briefly
A half-acre fire flared within a mile of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline near Livengood on the Fourth, then crews knocked it out the same day.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
NWS issues overlapping fire-weather alerts across northern Alaska through July 9
Fire-weather alerts cover northern Alaska through July 9 with dry fuels, lightning risk, and winds up to 35 mph across the Seward Peninsula, Kobuk, and Koyukuk valleys.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A wildfire came within a mile of Kaltag — then crews stopped it
A lightning fire pushed within a mile of Kaltag before smokejumpers and scooper planes held it at 55 acres, with the threat to the village easing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Fairbanks-area burn permits suspended amid high fire danger
Fairbanks, Salcha, and Railbelt burn permits are suspended indefinitely amid high fire danger — no pile burning, lawn burning, or burn barrels until conditions ease.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
New York hiker airlifted after head injury on Reed Lakes trail
NY resident got hurt at Reed Lakes. Be careful Reed Lakes. The rocks can get slippery.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A wildfire is burning in protected caribou habitat in the Kanuti refuge
A lightning fire is burning in protected caribou habitat inside the Kanuti refuge near Allakaket. Crews are holding it in place; no communities are threatened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
