Hope McKenney, KUCB - Unalaska

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A village on the ocean with a volcano in the background

Unalaska moves to ‘high risk’ after confirming community spread of COVID-19

Unalaska's city-run facilities — including the public library and swimming pool — will temporarily close beginning Friday.
An ice breaker sits at a dock with a ling from the bow

Nation’s sole heavy icebreaker arrives in Unalaska, preparing to patrol Arctic waters

The nation’s sole heavy icebreaker arrived in the Aleutian Islands this week for the first time since 2013.
Homes clustered in the grass, under a cloud

Adak under lockdown after finding first case of COVID-19

COVID-19 has locked down the westernmost community in the U.S. after a visitor tested positive on arrival on Saturday. It's the first confirmed case in the community of about 100 people, according to Adak City Manager Layton Lockett.
A fishing boat

During season’s final trip, all but one of Bering Sea trawl crew tests positive for COVID-19

While wrapping up their season fishing for Pacific Ocean perch in the Bering Sea, nearly the entire crew of a United States Seafoods trawler tested positive for COVID-19.
A community next to the water

Unalaska enters 2-week ‘hunker down’

The order follows two cases of confirmed community spread in the Aleutian community
Unalaska's runway taken from the mountain above, with water on either side

After ‘potential widespread exposure,’ Unalaska closes schools and considers lockdown

City officials confirmed two new COVID-19 cases through community spread on Monday, and said there’s “potential widespread exposure” to the virus in the community.
A town on a cove as seen from above

Cold Bay COVID-19 outbreak leaves Unalaska without flight service

AFter at least 10 of Cold Bay's 50 residents tested positive, the DOT cancelled commercial air flights to the village, the first closure of this kind during the pandemic at any State of Alaska airport.

Ravn Alaska will resume flights to six communities Friday

Tickets are now available for scheduled flights between Anchorage and Unalaska, Sand Point, Homer, Kenai and Valdez, according to Ravn CEO Rob McKinney.
a man in a black uniform with the yellow letters NTSB holds a propellor of a crashed airplane

One year later: Unalaskans reflect on fatal crash

A year after the crash, residents are grateful for the community that banded together, but also worried about the future of transportation to the Aleutian Island community.
Two blue bladders coming out of tubes

Unalaska PA’s ingenuity doubles available ventilators for COVID-19 pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic hit Alaska, physician's assistant from the fishing community of Unalaska did what she could to make sure her community was prepared.
A blue warehouse building with a small entry building oustdie where employees in hazmat equiipment wait

Unalaska’s biggest fish processor sees new COVID-19 cases

But the five employees who tested positive didn't interact with others, according to company officials.
Seen from a distance, a boat pulls a abloated whale that is half-way submerged in water

Dead whales wash up near Unalaska, but pandemic complicates necropsies

The two dead whales that were recently reported included a relatively rare fin whale.
Unalaska's runway taken from the mountain above, with water on either side

Seattle entrepreneur and Unalaska businessman to start flight co-op between Unalaska and Anchorage

Two people are promoting a new idea that they say could help address the Unalaska's persistent travel problems: a flight co-op. The vision is a $10/month service that offers protection against delays and would aim to provide seats on charter flights for $600.
The body of a dead steller sea lion on a beach

Biologists hope dead sea lion will provide insight into endangered Aleutian population

Officials with the program say they've recently been receiving more reports of Steller sea lions hauling out on beaches in poor condition, but have been unable to retrieve the animals for research — largely because they're in remote areas — and therefore still don't know what's causing the increase in sick or injured animals.

Ravn hopes to relaunch service to rural hubs in September

The company that bought Ravn's core assets initially hoped to relaunch operations around this time, but the new owners now say that they hope to resume flying in another month, in mid-September.

Southeast Alaska airline to relaunch passenger service on former Ravn routes

Alaska Seaplanes announced Tuesday it intends to relaunch passenger air service on routes formerly served by RavnAir Group, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seattle-based American Seafoods

After 100 cases in June, Seattle seafood company reports 6 more crew have COVID-19 in Dutch Harbor

A Bering Sea trawler currently docked in Dutch Harbor has reported six cases of COVID-19 among its 119 crew members, officials said Friday.

A person was fatally poisoned by mussels in Dutch Harbor, and now Alaska warns of high toxin levels

A person has died from paralytic shellfish poisoning after eating blue mussels and snails in the Aleutian Island community of Unalaska, state health officials confirmed Wednesday.

‘One mussel could kill someone’: Officials warn of extremely high shellfish toxin levels in Unalaska

Alaska state and local health officials are warning of dangerous high levels of toxins in shellfish, after a person died of paralytic shellfish poisoning from mussels and snails in the Aleutian Island community of Unalaska.

PSP levels in shellfish samples near Unalaska test dangerously high

A recent report showed some of the highest ever recorded levels of PSP toxins in butter clams taken from the Alaska Peninsula community of King Cove in June