KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak has deployed an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and support personnel to Cordova. The temporary deployment is in preparation for the upcoming Copper River Red and King fisheries in Prince William Sound and Southcentral Alaska.
Those fisheries are set to open in a few weeks and the increased number of fishing vessels that will be operating in the region prompted the Coast Guard’s deployment of the helicopter. The hope is to ensure rapid response in case of a vessel emergency.
Coast Guard Captain Daniel Travers is the chief of incident management and said in a release that Cordova is one of the Coast Guard’s four seasonal forward operating stations in Alaska and is scheduled to remain open until September 30. The aircrews now stationed in Cordova will also receive support from the Air Station Kodiak based HC-130 Hercules airplane throughout the spring and summer.
A release from the Coast Guard said the aircrews in Cordova saved nine lives and assisted 12 others last summer.
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