Crisis triggers alert

MAT-SU -- While Valley residents reeled from news of terrorist attacks thousands of miles away on the East Coast, local emergency and law enforcement agencies shifted into a state of alert Tuesday. A day later, things looked like they were heading back to normal.

"We're keeping our resources on stand-by, but we're going to try to get back to normal today," said Kevin Koechlein, Mat-Su Borough's head of Public Safety on Wednesday.

Fire stations in the Mat-Su Borough went into a lockdown mode Tuesday and fully staffed the stations with on-call fire personnel, Koechlein said.

But on Wednesday, the borough fire departments were back on volunteer status, said Chief Bill Gamble, who heads the Big Lake Fire Department and is acting fire chief in Meadow Lakes.

Since the Federal Aviation Administration suspended all air travel Tuesday and Wednesday, pilots on emergency aircraft in Alaska who wished to fly patients to hospitals had to acquire a waiver through the FAA, Gamble said.

Gamble said his staff experienced the ramifications of the emergency measure on Tuesday after they were called to a car accident in Meadow Lakes. The emergency responders made the decision to call Lifeguard to the scene to transport a severely injured woman from the crash.

Getting clearance for the emergency helicopter took so long, Gamble said, that the emergency medical technicians decided to transport the woman themselves by ambulance rather than wait for the Lifeguard helicopter.

But for the most part, Gamble said his two stations didn't see any activity out of the ordinary.

Statewide, troopers were put on stand-by after news of the terrorist attacks reached Alaska, said trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson.

Troopers have been consulting with the Emergency Operation Center and offered the use of trooper aircraft and Fish and Wildlife Protection vessels, Wilkinson said.

"But so far we haven't received a request for any special services," Wilkinson said.

Troopers have stepped up their visibility around the state, said Capt. Sam Brown, who heads up the Palmer post.

"We've put more patrols than normal on Valley roads," Brown said.

Since the Coast Guard shut down the port in Valdez to protect the trans-Alaska pipeline terminus, troopers have been working closely with Alyeska Pipeline Co. security, Brown said.

The Wasilla Police Department haven't noticed any significant changes of activity in that city, according to Chief Charlie Fannon.

"It's been really standard stuff," Fannon said, "accidents and some reports of vandalism. It's pretty typical for us."

At a borough Emergency Operation Command Unit meeting on Wednesday, Fannon said he'd been in contact with Palmer's emergency medical services, which handles the 911 calls in the Valley.

Apparently, the agency received about 20 percent fewer emergency calls since the country went into a heightened state of awareness, the chief reported.

Christine Fritz, communication's supervisor for the Palmer Police Department, said there were fewer police calls than usual on Tuesday, but the normal amount of ambulance requests.

"Our ambulance calls were about the same as any day," said Fritz, "People will call if they are sick or hurt regardless of what's going on in the rest of the world."

Acting Palmer Police Chief Russ Boatright agreed that police calls in that city were down.

"It's been peaceful," Boatright said, "I think most people, at least momentarily, are focused outside of themselves and not as focused on their own problems."