The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a pilot after his small plane crashed near Haines on Sunday (8-24-25). 

In an interview with KCAW, Chief Petty Officer Travis Magee said that around 8:30 a.m. the Coast Guard received a signal from the emergency locator transmitter of a two seat, single engine airplane over the Chilkat Range, approximately 35 miles south of Haines. 

“So the Coast Guard reached out to the Haines airport, who confirmed that there was an aircraft matching that description to the two seat, single engine airplane that had departed earlier that morning, but it had not returned,” said Magee.

Around 10:30 a.m. a 5-person helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka located the pilot and overturned aircraft near the Endicott River. Magee said the pilot walked away from the accident unscathed. 

“So we’re very thankful that this case resulted in the way that it did, with this individual having no reported back injuries,” said Magee.

The helicopter crew transported the pilot back to the Juneau airport. The pilot met with emergency medical services, but he did not request any assistance from them, and was released shortly afterwards.

This is a developing story and may be updated. 

Three kayakers were safely rescued by an Air Station Sitka helicopter crew after capsizing in the Chilkat River Sunday (07/18/21) night, about 18 miles from Haines. 

One male paddler and two women were separated after capsizing both their kayaks and a raft, and became stranded at different places along the river. One of the party alerted authorities to the situation using a satellite communication device called an “InReach.” 

 Tyler Conners, the rescue swimmer who flew on the mission, said the group had covered their bases.

“They were about as well prepared as they could be. They all they had an InReach which was great for them. It helped to help them get into contact with [Alaska] State Troopers and then communicate to us kind of what what their situation was like and where they were at. And then dry suits and, and life jackets as well,” Conners said.

“They did seem a little bit nervous,” he continued. “The one on the cliff was particularly a little scared…just scared from their situation that they were in.” 

The Chilkat is a fast-flowing glacial river. Conners says each of the kayakers was in a unique predicament that created challenges for the helicopter crew, when it arrived shortly before 10:30 p.m.

“It was particularly difficult to rescue these guys because, mostly just because of the positions they were in. The first gentleman was out on an island kind of in the middle of the river. He wasn’t super hard. The other two females that were on the riverbank were particularly challenging one because one of them was on a kind of steep riverbank. Pretty pretty hard to get to and very slippery,” he said. “And then the other one was kind of trapped almost in this like, cave like thing just on the side of the river with the with a tree overhead and her kayak blocking the entrance into it.”

Conners says it took about 45 minutes to hoist all three of the kayakers aboard the helicopter. The trio was flown to the Haines airport where they were met by EMS personnel. No serious injuries were reported. 

UPDATE, December 3, 2020, 12:45 p.m.: Four of the six people originally reported as missing following the massive slide in Haines have been found alive and well. The two who remain missing have been identified as Jenae Larson and David Simmons.

ORIGINAL REPORT:

Alaska State Troopers and the Haines Volunteer Fire Department evacuated residents by boat Wednesday afternoon (12-2-20) after a large landslide crashed through a stretch of homes. Searchers are looking for six people who may be trapped in the debris, the fire department said.

Record-breaking rainfall triggered the large landslide, and smaller ones, in the Southeast Alaska community. Residents reported widespread damage, including flooding, across town. At least one house was seriously damaged after the big slide rumbled down Battery Hill, troopers said.

Local fisherman Woody Pahl was plugging in his boat on a trailer near the harbor when a landslide hit some houses, he guessed about three of them, around 2 p.m.

“All of a sudden, there was a tidal wave that took off from the beach going outwards, and I knew something big had just happened,” he said.

“And I look over, and all the water’s going out, all the boats are going back down in the harbor. And the hillside is just sliding and sending all the trees and everything, the houses, out into the bay in front of town.”

Resident Mike Ward said he first heard what sounded like a big “woosh.”

“We looked up and the mountainside’s coming down and we just ripped out there,” he said.

Ward said he immediately raced up to Beach Road, where the slide happened, from the Quick Shop. Police asked him not to pass.

“We were yelling and looking, see if we could help,” he said.

He estimated a half mile of the mountain crashed down into the Lynn Canal.

“There’s all sorts of household stuff — foam and buckets and colored stuff — out in the water,” he said. “Eerie feeling.”

Locals took out boats to help.

The Salvation Army is working to get displaced people into hotels. Rescuers are requesting that now that it’s dark, evacuees should shine lights to signal that they need to be picked up from the beach or wherever they are, said Britt Tonnessen with the Salvation Army. People needing evacuation or other help may also call: 907-268-6015.

Before the slide, Haines residents woke up Wednesday morning to lots of destruction caused by a rare winter storm.

The borough declared a weather emergency as heavy rains flooded buildings, washed out roads throughout town and caused smaller landslides that took out several homes.

Schools and the clinic were closed. Roadway damage blocked access to the airport and the dock. The National Weather Service recorded more than 8 inches of rain at the Haines Airport overnight, and it was still raining Wednesday afternoon.

The agency says this kind of storm only happens once every 25 years.

Brandon and Abby Saiz joined KCAW’s Rich McClear this morning, where they explained just what the Southeast Alaska State Fair has to offer. The annual event in Haines invites Southeasters to enter everything from short stories to salmon berry jam to crocheted beanie.

The Southeast Alaska State Fair runs from July 25-28. Find details on how to enter and general information on the fair here.

Now in its second year, the Chilkat Challenge Triathlon is a “celebration of this river and what it means to Haines,” says event organizer Gershon Cohen. (Gene Cornelius photo)

For anyone who’s wanted to attempt a triathlon, but who wasn’t keen on swimming, there is an event for you in Southeast Alaska happening on July 1.

The second annual Chilkat Challenge Triathlon has a water section — for paddlers of canoes or kayaks, or even stand-up paddle boards.

Haines resident Gershon Cohen coordinates the event.

The Chilkat Challenge Triathlon is somewhat unique nowadays in terms of triathlons: It’s a paddle-bike-run. Instead of swim, folks will get into the water at Mosquito Lake about 30 miles north of Haines, they’ll paddle across the lake, through a slough, into the Chilkat River for about an 8-mile paddle. They’ll get out of their boats at Klukwan and ride about 22-miles into town. They’ll finish the bicycle ride at Ft. Seward, at the parade grounds, and then they’ll run about 9-and-a-half miles to Chilkat State Park.

Like Sitka’s Julie Hughes Triathlon, participants can compete individually, or in teams of two or three — even using a double kayak or canoe if they wish.

Cohen says the event takes care of logistics, like the transporting of gear to the transition areas, but does not supply boats.

Although the Chilkat Challenge started small last year, with mostly Haines residents, Cohen says the word is out on the event. He anticipates 50-60 boats in the water this year, and around 100 participants — from all over the map.

We’ve got people coming from Vermont, South Carolina, all over Anchorage and the Mat-Su, and throughout Southeast. We have people coming from Seattle as well. So the word is definitely getting out. Almost everyone who was in the race last year is signed up again, and they’re bringing friends and telling other people. We’ve had it advertised out on websites for triathlon groups, cycling groups, etc.

The entry fee is $75, and includes an after-party in Haines. Cohen says the Chilkat Challenge Triathlon is more of an “awareness raiser” than a fundraiser.

We just wanted to do something that celebrates this river, and what it means to the community of Haines. The race is hosted by Alaska Clean Water Advocacy, which works to keep rivers healthy and productive across the state. But it’s not really a fundraiser, as much as it is a way to raise consciousness and awareness about what these rivers mean to us and why it’s important to keep them healthy and clean.

There is a mandatory pre-race meeting for all competitors on June 30 the evening before race day, which is on Sunday, July 1.

The Chilkat Challenge Triathlon is not to be confused with the Kluane-Chilkat International Bike Relay, which takes place on June 16, and has about 1,300 riders. Cohen doesn’t rule out the possibility that someone might want to do both, however. “It would be a long layover between the two events,” he says, “but we’d love to have you.”

Downloadable audio.

Ralph Strong, a 78-year-old Alaska Native veteran from Klukwan, poses outside the American Legion Hall in nearby Haines. (Photo by Jillian Rogers/KHNS)

Being an older veteran in remote Southeast Alaska isn’t easy. Access to health care, transportation limitations and the high cost of living are a few of the big reasons why. But in Haines, services – from housing to therapy – are becoming easier to find, in part because of support from the local American Legion post.

As part of CoastAlaska’s Aging Southeast series, we visited with some senior veterans at the Lynn Canal Post 12 in Haines to learn more about how they work together.

Ralph Strong is a 78-year-old Alaska Native veteran from Klukwan, a village outside of Haines.

“I was in the Army, and I served a year in Korea and two years in California,” he said.

Strong is one of 300 veterans in the Haines Borough: Population 2,000.

He moved from Klukwan to Haines to a veteran’s apartment complex after his eyesight went bad. And between the recently-opened Veterans’ Village and his volunteer duties at the local American Legion post, he can’t complain.

“Some of us who are a little bit older, I don’t want to say old veterans, but a little bit older, we would appreciate the younger ones coming out and participating and helping us out,” he said.

Strong’s been a member of the American Legion for 32 years. In Haines, the Legion is the only veterans’ organization in town. It offers events and helps veterans and active military however it can.

He’s also among the 73,000-plus military veterans living in Alaska, which boasts the nation’s highest percentage of former armed services members. Twenty thousand, close to a third, are 65 or older, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

The Haines Borough, north of Juneau, is among the top five municipalities with the largest percentage of vets in the state. And many are in their golden years.

“I think it’s really telling that these folks are survivors,” said Paul Gaines Jr., a behavioral clinician with the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. “And so what we have is a high number of Vietnam-era veterans who have served who are approaching 70 and sometimes older.”

Gaines has worked with veterans across the country for years.

“How do we care for them? What services, what resources do we have in rural Alaska that can adequately support that population,” he said.

In the past few months, the local post has enlisted Gaines to host informal meetings. He runs what he calls a process group at the local Legion hall. He said veterans can pick a topic to chat about or simply get together and watch a movie. He added that isolation after time in the service can often lead to depression, alcoholism and more.

Haines-area veterans meet at Lynn Canal American Legion Post 2. (Photo by Jillian Rogers/KHNS)

“They learn to trust one another in the service. You learn to trust someone else with your life and you’re ready to lay your life down on someone else,” he said.

“When they come home, that sense of camaraderie isn’t shared with civilians. They don’t know us, they don’t trust us. They have no reason to. And so they go into survival mode. And because of that, they learn to trust themselves and very few others.”

Local Legion commander John Newton said only about a third of vets living in the area are members of Lynn Canal Post 12.

“We’ve got four members of World War II, several Korean members and then we have quite a few Vietnam members. But after Vietnam, we don’t get too many young people. For some reason, the younger generation doesn’t want to get involved in the military organizations yet,” he said.

The reason, Newton surmised, is because the younger soldiers are trying to forget. Newton, who is 72, is himself a Vietnam veteran of the U.S. Army.

“I was the same way when I got out after being in ‘Nam. You come home, you just don’t want to remember it and you just don’t feel like you’re not welcome anywhere,” he said.

But sometimes simply getting to the myriad of events hosted by the Legion can be challenging. Newton said the taxi service is no longer running and the senior van service only runs during daylight hours. Legion members chip in and help.

But transportation further away to Juneau, where vets can access VA medical care, is whole different ball of wax. With stripped-down ferry service and weather-delayed flights, getting to the state’s capital for doctors’ appointments can be a week-long affair. And the costs associated with that add up quickly. Access to care is a theme that runs throughout Southeast Alaska.

Patterson served for most of the ‘70s overseas as a code-maker and breaker and he said establishments like the Legion offer a safe outlet for vets. Or just a friendly place to have a beer.

“As we know, it only takes one generation to skip something and it’s done, it’s history. And we could be that key generation,” he said.

Through increased outreach efforts, Newton and other Legionnaires are hoping to attract more members. They know they’re out there and they’re getting older.

Read and hear other reports in our Aging Southeast series.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of Escherichia coli, grown in culture and adhered to a cover slip. (Courtesy National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Haines residents are being told to boil their drinking water after E. coli was found in the municipal water system.

Local officials issued the notice Wednesday after a routine test turned up the bacteria.

The community is about 90 miles north of Juneau, on Lynn Canal.

Haines Borough Manager David Sosa says the contamination might come from a spring that feeds into the water system.

“There could be a septic system that’s leaking into it. There are a number of other options it could be. And we want to make sure we hit the right answer on this,” he says.

Sosa says the community’s main water source is a lake south of town. If tests show it’s clean, it can supply the whole community, without the spring-fed system.

“What we can do is cut off the water from that system, introduce more chlorine into the system, purge the entire system and then fill the system up. That would take time but that’s the safest and best action we can take for the community,” he says.

Residents are being told to boil their water for 2 minutes, which will kill off the bacteria. Some are also using bottled water.

E. coli can cause diarrhea, cramps and vomiting. Young children, older people and those with compromised immune systems can experience kidney failure.

Those getting water from other sources are not affected. Several other springs are popular with Haines residents.

Borough Manager Sosa says informational fliers were posted around Haines and delivered door-to-door. He also informed the local clinic.

“I went over to [the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium] and I spoke with the administrator there and with the staff so I could advise them of the situation so they could be prepared to look for potential symptoms that might be associated with this,” he says.

Officials are unsure how long it will take to drop the boil-water notice. But it could last through the weekend.

Three canoes left Kake this morning, starting a week-long trip to Juneau for Celebration 2014. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Jackson)

Paddlers in the three canoes come from Kake, Wrangell, and Ketchikan. They’ll meet up with canoes from around Southeast on the route to Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Jackson)

Three canoes left Kake this morning (Thurs 6-5-14); a week from now, when they land in Juneau, their flotilla will be ten canoes strong.

On Thursday, nearly thirty people from Wrangell, Ketchikan, and Kake set off for a week-long paddle to Celebration 2014. The trek, organized by the One People Canoe Society, will culminate in a landing ceremony on Wednesday, June 11. The paddlers, , accompanied by the Sitka-based F/V Grace, will pick up other canoes as they travel through Southeast. On Friday, they plan to be in  Angoon, where they will be joined by two local canoes, as well as one from Sitka. Other canoes will join from Hoonah, Yakutat, and Haines.

Volunteers from the One People Canoe Society have traveled throughout Southeast this spring, teaching paddle-making workshops. In all, volunteers have made 245 paddles since mid-February, said coordinator Alicia Chilton, who is skippering the Wrangell canoe. Those paddles are being used on the trip.

So what prompts people to pick up a paddle? It’s about “getting out on the water, adventure, singing songs,” Chilton said. “Getting back to their roots — or maybe finding them.”