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WRANGELL - Christina Florschutz, an aide at Evergreen Elementary School, survived the 11-Mile landslide killed at least four people Nov. 20 - even after debris destroyed her home and trapped her overnight. The evening of the slide, Florschutz went upstairs to take a shower. After she got out, she heard "a horrible noise, a very loud noise." Before she could react, the landslide slammed into her house, tossing her "like a piece of weightless popcorn" around the room until she lost consciousness....
WRANGELL — People living near the landslide’s path had a harrowing night Nov. 20, as homes were evacuated and first responders searched for people who were unaccounted for. Stan Guggenbickler was missing overnight after going for a drive on the evening of Nov. 20. He had baked a cake for his son’s 18th birthday and wanted to let the cake cool before frosting it, so he headed up the road from his house at Panhandle Trailer Court to Middle Ridge cabin in his truck. After turning onto the road to Middle Ridge, debris covered his exit, trapping h...
WRANGELL - Heavy rains, high winds and the unique topography of the area likely caused the Nov. 20 landslide at 11-Mile. The type of landslide that hit Wrangell is called a "debris flow" - a "notably destructive" event that is common in the region, said state geologist Barrett Salisbury at a Nov. 21 press conference. They occur when soil becomes so saturated with water that individual pieces of soil are no longer touching each other, and lack the strength to hold themselves in place. Debris...
WRANGELL - One juvenile female and two adults are confirmed dead after a massive landslide 11 miles from town covered three homes on Monday night. Three people - one adult and two juveniles - were still missing as of late Tuesday evening. Local and state rescue teams are engaged in an ongoing search. First responders arrived at the scene soon after the slide was reported at 8:51 p.m. Monday. Shortly after, they started a "hasty search" for survivors, said Austin McDaniel, communications... 
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For some, the holiday spirit doesn’t kick in until the evening of Dec. 24, when the stockings are already on the mantle. For others, Christmastime is a monthslong extravaganza that starts when the last trick-or-treaters say goodnight and ends sometime in late January, when the Christmas tree is a pile of needles on the floor. The right time of year to put up a tree is a deeply personal decision, but regardless of your holiday decoration timeline, the annual Spotify spike of “All I Want for Christmas is You” streams has already begun, and the f...
WRANGELL — In a livestreamed lecture sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute, ethnohistorian Zachary Jones presented on the U.S. military’s 19th century attacks on the Tlingit villages of Kaachxhaan.áak’w, Kéex’ Kwáan and Xutsnoowú Kwáan — present-day Wrangell, Kake and Angoon. Though the attacks occurred over 150 years ago, their effects are still felt by Tlingit communities today, Jones said, and community leaders are still seeking restitution. In 1867, the U.S. government paid Russia $7.2 million — less than two cents per acre — for the t...
WRANGELL — Members of the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee are concerned about the future of commercial salmon fishing as Alaska’s tourism industry continues to expand, bringing in more non-resident fishers on charter trips. The advisory committee supports amending state regulation to prevent the Southeast sport fishery from exceeding its 20% share of the Pacific Salmon Commission’s annual harvest ceiling for king salmon. The committee voted Nov. 7 to support a proposal calling for tighter state regulation of the charter catch and q...
After a yearlong public process, the U.S. Forest Service has announced eight potential sites for new recreational cabins in the Petersburg and Wrangell Ranger Districts. After considering the environmental impacts and accessibility of hundreds of sites suggested by members of the public or identified by staff, the district picked the ones that are most likely to see substantial traffic and compete for federal funding, and announced them in a draft decision published Thursday, Oct. 19. There are...
WRANGELL — Want to golf for a good cause? The WMC Foundation and SEARHC are offering the women of the community an opportunity to do just that at the Rally for Cancer Care fundraiser at Muskeg Meadows on Aug. 5. The event will feature a luncheon, beverages, prizes, a silent auction and a “fun and frolic” golf tournament — a non-scored, no-skills-necessary take on the game. The tournament is ladies only, but organizer Patty Gilbert said she “wouldn’t mind men attending” the lunch, games and auction. The fundraiser will support the WMC Foundatio...
WRANGELL – Wrangell’s borough-owned hospital property on Bennett Street has been vacant since March 2021 and on the market for about a year. Though the borough has received one development proposal for the land, it is contracting with a realtor to attract more buyers and expand its options. At its June 13 meeting, the Wrangell assembly approved a contract with Petersburg-based real estate agent Anchor Properties to try selling the 30,000-square-foot building and 1.94 acres of land. Assembly Member Jim DeBord was the only opposing vote. The app...
For many, classical music evokes images of evening gowns, baroque concert halls and impassioned, white-gloved conductors. Its mood is reverent, its audiences are serious and ever-so-slightly snobbish. But concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky has set out to buck classical piano's black-tie reputation. The music, he argues, is not only for a knowledgeable few - its beauty can be appreciated by everyone, regardless of whether they know a "madrigal" from a "minuet." Rudnytsky, a professional musician...
Wrangell may not be on the road system, but that doesn’t mean it’s not connected to the rest of the world. Last month, a U.S. Forest Service project put Wrangell on the map — the Motus map. The Motus Wildlife Tracking System is an international collaborative research network that uses radio telemetry technology to study the migratory patterns of birds and other animals. After scientists put a nanotag on a bird, its movements can be tracked by hundreds of Motus antennae all over the world. These tags can weigh less than a gram. The program’s res...
WRANGELL — Every spring when the eulachon spawn, the Stikine River flats are flooded with thousands of migratory shorebirds. And each year, the town responds in-kind with the Stikine River Birding Festival, filling the radio airwaves with bird songs and holding an array of avian-themed events. This season, the festival will run for three weekends between April 21 and May 6. It will feature movies, crafts, workshops and more. “Birding is such a nice welcome to spring,” said Corree Delabrue of the U.S. Forest Service, who helped plan the festi...
WRANGELL — Late last month, the Wrangell Borough discovered an oversight in the construction of Heritage Harbor — its steel pilings and piers do not have corrosion-preventing anodes on them. These pieces of oxidizing metal protect pilings from underwater degradation. Without them, the supports underneath the Heritage floats have begun to corrode. The borough plans to work quickly to install nearly $1 million worth of anodes at the harbor to prevent further wear. Near the end of March, the Port and Harbors Department sent a diver to check the an...
After meeting with representatives of the British Columbia mining and environmental ministries in Juneau last week, state legislators, Alaska Native leaders and environmentalists urged the federal government to intervene against the development of new B.C. mines that could pollute transboundary salmon runs. In a press conference March 8, stakeholders called on the federal government to use its powers under the U.S.-Canada Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to place an immediate temporary pause on the exploration, development and expansion of B.C....
WRANGELL – Wrangell community members showed their support for the Churchill family last week after Randy Churchill Jr., 39, was killed by a falling tree in an accident Feb. 22. Parks and Recreation Coordinator Lucy Robinson organized a community walk last Sunday to raise money for the family and about 50 people showed up. “There were a few really close family members there that joined us,” said Robinson. “There were good conversations.” She planned the walk to create an outlet for community members to express their support in-person and provid...
On Thursday, Alaskans will celebrate Elizabeth Peratrovich Day to honor the Tlingit civil rights advocate who pushed for the nation’s first anti-discrimination law, 19 years before the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. During her lifelong campaign for Native rights, she fought segregation and a majority white territorial Legislature to establish a foundation of legal protections that have benefitted Alaskans since 1945. Peratrovich was born in segregated Petersburg on July 4, 1911. She was a member of the Tlingit Raven moiety and LukaaX.ádi cl...
Wolves are social, territorial animals that educate their young, care for their injured and stick with their close-knit family groups — most of the time, that is. In the past few months, a wolf from Petersburg has struck out on its own and taken up swimming, behaviors that are unusual — though not unheard of — for a wolf. The swimming wolf traveled from Petersburg to Wrangell Island to Etolin Island, and its movements could help area scientists learn more about the animals’ lifestyle . The animal was captured on Sept. 14 within Petersburg city...
The state Board of Game has approved a proposal to reopen an elk hunt on Zarembo Island, though the odds that a local could nab a tag and take a bull will be low — a small number of tags will be available and the drawing will be open to hunters nationwide. The first drawing will likely take place this fall, with the hunt set for fall 2024. There hasn’t been an elk hunt on Zarembo for nearly 20 years, due to concerns about the small population’s sustainability, explained Petersburg-based state Fish and Game biologist Frank Robbins. “The last ye...
WRANGELL — The borough is about to begin the five-year, state-mandated process of updating its wastewater treatment plant. Borough officials are currently searching for sources of funding for what will likely be a multimillion-dollar project. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues permits to wastewater treatment plants across the nation, regulating the amount of pollutants they are allowed to release into the water. Historically, the Wrangell treatment plant has received a waiver allowing it to discharge wastewater that has not u...
Everything you could possibly want to know about fish, from their biological characteristics to the commercial fisheries that harvest and sell them to the governmental entities that regulate them, is available through the University of Alaska Southeast applied fisheries program. Catering to high schoolers, recent graduates and seasoned professionals alike, the school's online and in-person programs prepare students for jobs in the industry. Applied fisheries is a workforce development program...
WRANGELL — Dusty Cowan, 41, of Wrangell, was sentenced to seven years in prison last week for online enticement of a minor and distribution of indecent materials to a minor. His crimes included “soliciting sexual photos from a minor as well as sending photos of his (genitals) to the minor,” according to a statement from the Alaska Department of Law. The victim was 14 years old when Cowan began initiating sexually explicit conversations and video chats with her via Facebook Messenger. He had known the victim since she was in kindergarten and was...
WRANGELL – From deadly toxins to dangerous explosions, the risks of pressure canning make this vital home skill sound like a stunt straight out of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise. But, armed with knowledge from Sarah Lewis of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension Service, Wrangell residents learned that food preservation can be safe, simple and fun during a series of classes hosted by the Wrangell Cooperative Association last week. Their mission, should they choose to accept it?...
After a boating accident near Point Baker last week, former Wrangell resident Kelsey Leak spent 24 hours on West Rock before being rescued by a fishing boat. Her boyfriend, 27-year-old Arne Dahl has not been found and is presumed dead. The morning of Nov. 27 was bright and clear. Leak and Dahl set out from their Point Baker homestead at 11 a.m. to collect firewood aboard Dahl's old wooden fishing vessel, the Randi Jo. The pair had been living off-grid at Point Baker, where Dahl was raised, since...
WRANGELL – Wrangell vessel owners who already shuttle passengers and freight around southern Southeast said they would be willing to contract with Wrangell Borough for service to Petersburg and Coffman Cove, rather than see the borough subsidize a return of the more expensive Inter-Island Ferry Authority. Zach Taylor, who operates the 38-foot catamaran Island Cat, and Eric Yancey, who operates the 75-foot landing craft Rainforest Islander, have expressed their willingness to contract with the borough to provide regular service between the c...
