Category: Blog

2 Hikers Rescued in Remote Alaska

Two hikers from Georgia and South Carolina were rescued while on a trek to visit a famous abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness on Sunday. The hikers, Michael Trigg, 25, and Theodore “Ted” Ashlund, 27, were nearly swept away while trying to cross the Teklanika River in an attempt to save time on their return.

Everyone remembers the “Magic Bus” from Jon Krakauer’s nonfiction book and subsequent film, Into the Wild – the often-sad survival story of Christopher McCandless who left everything material he had in the world to try and find adventure. That Fairbanks transit bus-turned-makeshift backcountry shelter sits along the Stampede Trail in Denali National Park.

Read Full Story Here…..

Rafting Excursion Ends in Fatalities on the Kongakut River

The recent deaths of two women during a rafting excursion illustrate not only how unpredictably dangerous Alaska’s wilderness can be, but also how limited resources are in the nation’s largest state.

The women’s families are questioning why it took so long for help to arrive, but one official notes the nearest rescuers had to travel hundreds of miles and deal with all the logistics that go with it.

In Alaska, the harsh reality is that people are literally on their own when they veer away from the limited road system of the state, which is more than two-and-a-half times the size of Texas but with a population equal to the metro area of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“Unfortunately, we do not have rescue assets within close proximity of every region in our state, and sometimes capability, proper resources, and timeliness in response to an incident is not immediately available,” Alaska National Guard spokeswoman Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead said in an email to The Associated Press.

Read Full Story Here….

Hurricane season is just getting underway in the Gulf Coast region.

If you missed Hurricane Preparedness Week (May 15-21, 2016), there’s still time to prepare. While hurricane season started June 1 and lasts until Nov. 30, many in New Orleans and the Gulf South know it’s good to be prepared year-round.

And at all times it seems connectivity should be a priority.

FEMA warns that in disasters small and large, “Phone lines can go down, cell service can be overrun with calls, texts and emails and it can be difficult for survivors as well as first responders to get in touch.” They caution: “This isn’t a far-fetched scenario or intellectual exercise. It’s a reality we’ve seen happen over and over.” FEMA recommends relying on satellite phones in these situations.

In some instances, a satellite phone and satellite technology can mean the difference between life and death, no matter the season. Just ask Michael Herrera, who recently became the 4,000th rescue for Globalstar, a satellite communications company relied upon globally and based in Covington, Louisiana.

Herrera, a retired Houston firefighter and motorcycle enthusiast, was off-roading alone in DeKalb County, AL, last December. He took a hard fall and sustained a broken collarbone, three broken ribs, and a partially collapsed lung. After activating Globalstar’s SPOT device, a location tracking device that can send out a beacon to emergency services and verify your GPS location, Herrera was rescued in less than 40 minutes despite being alone and in a remote area. SPOT averages approximately two rescues per day and to date, has been responsible for more than 4,300 rescues around the globe.

“It’s my angel on my shoulder,” says Herrera, adding that no matter where he rides he feels he’s only “as far as his backyard.” Having been a firefighter and knowing he won’t give up his hobby, Herrera recognizes the importance of having something to fall back on: “I like to have an escape plan.”

Looking back on his rescue, Herrera says that satellite phones or SPOT devices are “something you hope you’ll never need to use.” He adds, “I’m just glad I had it on that day.”

From a management perspective, it (satellite phone backup plan) is most vital in today’s market.

During Hurricane Katrina, more than 20 million calls did not go through, and six out of eight police district buildings had no communications. In some locations it took months to restore service. Many rescue personnel had their service restored and got back to duty thanks to the thousands of satellite phones donated by Covington’s Globalstar.

But emergencies can happen anytime and sometimes they happen when you’re out of cell phone range. Satellite phones have become a trusted device for adventurers, emergency personnel, maritime workers, recreational boaters, oil and gas personnel and anyone who lives, works or plays in areas with limited or no cellular service.

In addition, satellite devices provide business owners and operators the ability to stay connected regardless of cellular service.

Glenn Hanson, VP of Laboratories for Coastal Gulf & International in New Orleans, which services the petroleum and petrochemical industry and includes offshore work, says with constant communication such a necessity in his line of work, having a backup plan to stay connected is crucial.

“From a management perspective, it (satellite phone backup plan) is most vital in today’s market, with safety issues that may arise out in the Gulf of Mexico, or if there’s an equipment breakdown,” said Hanson, whose backup plan with CGI includes equipping the company with Globalstar satellite phones. “Now, we have the ability to communicate right away, whereas in the past we may not have had that.”

“In the event of natural disasters or when we are offshore, we need to have the ability to communicate. We can now communicate within our offices during those circumstances.”

Now, that’s staying connected.

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BAY COUNTY, Fla.

Sixty business and community leaders around Bay County with all different backgrounds came to the Emergency Operations Center for the same reason.

The Bay County Chamber of Commerce held a Disaster Preparedness Seminar Tuesday morning.

Mark Bowen, the Chief of Emergency Services, along with other staff at the EOC, reminded businesses to prepare for an emergency like a fire, flood, tornado or hurricane.

Studies show 25 percent of businesses never reopen following a disaster.

Continue the story here…..

Wang will have a satellite phone to keep in touch with friends and family.

Julie Wang wants to be on top of the world.  And she will be as of this past Saturday, she embarked on a mission to become the first Chinese woman to fly solo around the world.

She took off at 8 a.m. from Witham Field Airport in Stuart Florida.

Her first stop is Texas, then on to San Francisco and next to Hawaii. She will make a total of 17 stops and travel over 26,000 miles, 23,000 of those over water, before coming back to her home in West Palm Beach. Her journey will take 35 to 50 days.

Wang would become one of only a handful of women to complete the solo trip.

“I hope to influence other women pilots,” Wang said. “I would be really happy to do that.”

Wang’s passion for flight began in China, where she was born. Both of her parents were aerospace professors at Harbin Institute of Technology in China.

Wang moved from China to West Palm Beach six years ago with her husband. In China, she worked in the advertising industry, but in America she decided she wanted to pursue her passion of flight.

“In America, the aviation culture is pure, and it’s kind of spiritual to fly,” she said.

In 2011, she received her pilot license. She later met Wei Chen, a Chinese man who flew around the world in 69 days, who inspired her to take her own journey. “I told myself: ‘I could do that, I could actually fly around the world,'” she said.

Wang is optimistic but wary of a few things. Her single-engine plane doesn’t have a parachute, and she will spend most of her time traveling over water. She also has to sit in the plane for extended hours — her longest trip is 17 hours. During these times, she said that she needs to concentrate to avoid being distracted.

“I have snacks that I will eat every hour and drink a lot,” she said. “I will avoid any coffee and chocolate, that can make me [tired].”

She also said she has a satellite phone so she can talk to friends and family along the way.

Patrick Connell trained Wang to become a pilot. He is confident in her abilities to make the trip.

“Julie is an extremely intelligent, knowledgeable individual,” Connell said. “She’s the kind of person that will aggressively pursue anything that sparks her interest.”

Connell said around-the-world flights can be dangerous, but he wishes Wang luck.

“There’s always dangers with the environment and the weather,” he said. “My biggest concern would be potential mechanical and environment issues, both of which you have very little control over.”

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Tropical Storm Earl 

Tropical Storm Earl formed Tuesday morning and was headed for Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula, according to the official forecast from the National Hurricane Center. It was not expected to become a hurricane. (National Hurricane Center)

The Atlantic now officially has its fifth named storm of 2016.

Tropical Storm Earl was located about 215 miles south-southeast of Grand Cayman in the northwest Caribbean, according to the first advisory on the system issued by the National Hurricane Center just before 11 a.m. CDT Tuesday.

Earl was moving west at 22 mph and had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

Watches and warnings immediately went up along the coasts.

Mexico and Belize issued a tropical storm warning. Honduras also issued a tropical storm warning for its entire north coast.

A hurricane watch was issued for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula from Punta Allen, Mexico, southward to the Belize-Guatemala border.

Read more about Tropical Storm Earl here….

From Bad to Worse

It was a memorable day trip into the woods for Calgarian Steve Hyde — his motorhome got stuck, he had a heart attack, a search crew helping out him drove off a cliff, he got a ride in a medical helicopter and the RCMP babysat his kids.

Hyde recently headed to the Crowsnest Pass with his daughters, aged 11 and 12, with plans to dirt bike up a mountain to the scene of a Second World War bomber that crashed there.

Well, the best laid plans …

He took his motorhome up a side road to get near the area of the crash but got stuck.

His first Good Samaritan of the day jumped into action and pulled his motorhome out using their pickup truck.

The girls went ahead on the trail on their bikes while Hyde, 53, followed behind in his motorhome.

He started to feel unwell.

“Probably three or four km up the road, there is a fork in a road and a stream there.” Hyde said

“I laid in the stream to recover, I just thought I overdid it.”

But the cold mountain stream didn’t improve things for Hyde.

“About 15 minutes later, I didn’t get any better. Not one bit. I knew I was in trouble,” he said.

Cue Guardian Angels Part 2, a group of quadders who where heading up the trail.

“I think I’m having a heart attack,” he told them.

“They took charge, and there was a nurse there.

“One of the guys took me onto his ATV, and was thrashing over boulders, I was holding onto whatever I could.”

After escaping the brush, the quadders used a satellite phone to call for help.

Read Full Story Here…..

Giant Tree Falls on Girls During Camping Trip

A hiking trip during summer camp almost turns deadly for two young teens.

Kaylie Eisenberg and Dresden Cogan have been through just about everything together, including escaping death.

The 15-year-olds were on a camping trip, just a month ago up in Isle Royal on Lake Superior when suddenly they went through a nightmare.

“That day we had just gotten done with a four-mile hike. We get to the camp and set up our hammock,” said the girls who were also with another friend.

Then the girls heard a crack.

“Basically it was like slow motion. It happened to so fast. I just heard them screaming and then you could see a tree coming down. Just very terrifying,” said the girls.

A large, dead tree landed on the girls.

Read Full Story and Watch the Video Interview Here….