Winds hamper medevac

TALKEETNA — High winds in Wasilla and Palmer grounded a local medevac helicopter, but Alaska State Troopers managed to make it through Tuesday.

According to an AST statement, at 6:35 p.m., Judy Price, 63, of Talkeetna, called to say her husband, Paul Bratton, 61, needed medical help.

The couple lives on a homestead 15 air miles from downtown Talkeetna near Clear Creek.

LifeMed Alaska couldn’t launch from Wasilla because of high winds, troopers report. But a trooper helicopter managed to take off from Anchorage.

The trooper helo stopped at the Talkeetna airport to pick up a couple of medics, then continued on to the homestead, picked up Bratton and Price, then returned to the airport, where Bratton and Price were loaded into an ambulance.

Troopers decided an ambulance trip made sense because “due to high winds in Palmer and Wasilla, (the helo was) unable to land at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.”

Bratton left for the hospital in stable condition.