Tim Ellis

1 week ago | alaskapublic.org | Tim Ellis

This year's fire season started slowly due to cool and rainy weather, but it roared to life last week with near-record heat and Red Flag warnings in effect around the Interior and elsewhere in the state. "As of Monday afternoon, we've had 13 new fires in the last 24 hours statewide, and 118 fires have burned 3,100 acres," says Beth Ipsen, an Alaska Fire Service spokesperson.

3 weeks ago | ktoo.org | Tim Ellis

National Park Service rangers recovered the body of a ski mountaineer on Wednesday who fell 3,000 feet to his death off the West Buttress of Denali. The agency identified the victim as 41-year-old Alex Chiu of Seattle. Denali National Park and Preserve spokesperson Amber Smigiel said it’s likely that Chiu died after he slipped from a ledge and fell onto the rocky face of the Peters Glacier. “His body was found at the bottom of the 3,000-foot slope of the glacier,” she said.

3 weeks ago | alaskapublic.org | Tim Ellis

National Park Service rangers recovered the body of a ski mountaineer on Wednesday who fell 3,000 feet to his death off the West Buttress of Denali. The agency identified the victim as 41-year-old Alex Chiu of Seattle. Denali National Park and Preserve spokesperson Amber Smigiel said it’s likely that Chiu died after he slipped from a ledge and fell onto the rocky face of the Peters Glacier. “His body was found at the bottom of the 3,000-foot slope of the glacier," she said.

3 weeks ago | alaskapublic.org | Tim Ellis

Bad weather has halted a search for a 41-year-old mountaineer who remains missing after falling Monday off the West Buttress of Denali. National Park Service spokesperson Amber Smigiel said a ground search was called off Tuesday after heavy winds and snow set in on the mountain, recently renamed Mount McKinley by President Trump. She said rangers are monitoring conditions every hour in hopes the weather will break so they can restart the search.

2 months ago | alaskapublic.org | Tim Ellis

A final report on the fiery crash of a commercial cargo plane near Fairbanks last year that killed both crew members aboard says one of its engines lost power and exploded. The National Transportation Safety Board report identified several maintenance and repair problems with the Douglas C-54 that crashed and burned on April 23, 2024. The report, released earlier this month, also identified the crew as pilot John Sliwinsky, 68, and co-pilot Harry Secoy, 63.