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At a magnitude 7.9, the deep-sea earthquake that struck on June 23 was the most powerful to hit the Western Aleutians in 50 years. The quake didn’t cause any structural damage — but it was a reminder that life in the islands can change in an instant.

The first tsunami warning issued after last Monday’s earthquake didn’t include Unalaska. In fact, the quake’s epicenter was far away from the town – deep underwater, 600 miles across the chain.

But that didn’t stop residents from taking notice.

“A lot of folks might have just caught a little — tidbits of it, such as the word Aleutians — earthquake — evacuation, when the warning was further down the chain,” says Unalaksa public safety director Jamie Sunderland.

He says they started getting calls about the quake and the tsunami risk almost immediately. They only had one dispatcher on duty, and had to scramble to bring in extra staff.

When a tsunami advisory was issued for Unalaska a short time later, he says it was tough to get the message out – that residents didn’t actually need to evacuate. Some were already heading for high ground.

Of course, Unalaska had practiced for a day like this during the statewide tsunami drill just a few months before. But Sunderland says their experience this time, showed some things are out of their control.

“Think back to grade school where they had you do a little exercise where you whisper a certain phrase into someone’s ear, and by the time it comes around the room, the message is completely changed,” he says. “The same thing happens as we pass messages through our various systems, as we try and abbreviate things.”

In Adak – just a couple hundred miles from the quake’s epicenter — the message about getting to high ground was a lot clearer:

“Given the duration and intensity of the earthquake, most people didn’t need much warning to go up there,” says city manager Layton Lockett.

He says they sounded their tsunami siren right after they felt the quake. And together, about 100 Adak residents stopped what they were doing and headed for the town shelter, an old church on a hill.

“It actually worked very well,” Lockett says. “Better than any drill we could have planned for.”

Despite the strength of the quake, Adak didn’t see any damages. In fact, the disaster’s only victims may not have been people or property at all.

Seabirds on nearby Buldir Island build their nests in rocky cliffs. When the earthquake hit, parts of those cliffs collapsed or slid away – crushing some eggs and killing chicks in the process.

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge director Steve Delehanty was visiting Adak during the quake. He says there’s no way to tell how many of Buldir’s kittiwakes, murres and auklets were lost. But he also says it’s part of the natural cycle – the birds are well adapted to a changeable environment.

“There’s a short-term impact to birds, but it’s the very forces of nature that those birds depend on in the long run to provide their habitat,” Delehanty says.

The same is true of the people that live on the chain. Life in the Aleutians means expecting the unexpected – from volcanic eruptions to earthquakes and tsunamis – even when all that washes ashore is a wave less than a foot tall.

A program that aired this past Sunday on the Smithsonian Channel tried to capture the majesty of the 49th state. Toby Beach is the producer and director of Aerial America. The show features all 50 states, but only Alaska was given a two hour treatment rather than one. Beach says the program cuts through the distorted view of Alaska that people may get from the flood of so-called reality TV shows about the state.

Here are a couple of the previews released so far. You can find out more about the shot at Smithsonian Channel.com.

Juneau police believe they have a suspect in connection with a racial incident that marred the parade at the end of last month’s Alaska Native Celebration festival.

The Michigan man also is being investigated by the Secret Service and is wanted in Hawaii for threatening people.

Alexander Logan Libbrecht, 32, is being held on $25,000 bail in Lemon Creek Correctional Center on charges of fourth-degree assault.

Juneau Police Lt. Kris Sell says Libbrecht yelled racist slurs and threatened a black woman last week on Gold Street.

“He didn’t access a weapon or touch her, she was in fear based on the fact that he was calling her the ‘N’ word and saying he was going to bash her head in, and he’s in a rage walking up and down the street,” Sell says. “She was very frightened.”

Libbrecht’s behavior was similar to that of a man who allegedly yelled racist slurs during the June 14 Celebration parade, grabbed an American flag carried by an Alaska Native veteran, then ran, shoving people in his way, even knocking a woman down.

“We are working with some photo line ups with witnesses to that. Also his behavior is very consistent with what happened at Celebration,” she says.

Police believe he was the same man that knocked over Main Street traffic barricades just before the flag incident.

It’s not clear how long Libbrecht has been in Juneau, or why he came here. On June 26^th, the U.S. Secret Service asked JPD for assistance in contacting him for an interview regarding threats he made against President Barack Obama as well as a New Jersey attorney. Lt. Sell says the threats were left in voice mails during telephone calls made from Juneau to the New Jersey attorney.

“Mr. Libbrecht was interviewed about a couple of things – first his threats against the president of the United States and also his threats to kill an attorney in New Jersey, who had previously represented Libbrecht in a different case. He threatened to stab and kill that attorney along with the attorney’s wife,” she says.

Libbrecht was arraigned in Juneau Superior Court late last week for the Gold Street incident.

“The Secret Service agent testified telephonically in court that the first interview was with Mr. Libbrecht in 2010. There was a subsequent interview, I believe, in 2012, then this most recent interview,” Sell says.

She says police have no indication that Libbrecht has ever gotten close to the president.

Libbrecht also is wanted in Hawaii on charges of terroristic threatening.

“The charges in Hawaii stem from an incident where he threw large rocks at people on a beach, ultimately clearing that beach of people who were recreating there,” she says.

JPD investigators knew about the Hawaii charges when they started investigating  Libbrecht for the Celebration incident.

Hawaii court records indicate Libbrecht was arrested last October, held on $9,000 bail then released when bail was paid by a family member. The court ordered a mental evaluation, the results of which were not part of the accessible record.

According to court records, the prosecutor in that case had to get a stalking protective order against Libbrecht, because he threatened her.

After he failed to appear for a hearing in March, a judge issued a $100,000 bench warrant, meaning if he were to be arrested again in Hawaii, bail would be set at $100,000.

JPD Lt. Sell says she believes Libbrecht is dangerous. In addition to $25,000 bail set in the Juneau case, he can be released only to a third-party custodian.

Former Juneau resident, Juneau-Douglas High School player, and Juneau Soccer Club coach Jeremy Gleason has spent the last few weeks in Brazil watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He’s provided commentary on the games and the very unique cultural experience every few days during KTOO’s Morning Edition program. Below are some of the images that he’s collected from his recent stop in Salvador.

Some of the pictures include images of the cobblestone streets of the Pelourinho historical district, Bahian Independence Day celebrations, and a fried fish snack called bolinho de bacalhau.

Gleason said many American fans appeared to be heading home after the United States’ loss to Germany in the knockout round. But he planned to stick around until the final game of the World Cup.

 

All photos courtesy Colin McClung who took a break from his job on Friday morning to take a few photos of Juneau’s Fourth of July parade with a particular emphasis on canines and classic cars.

Crime did not take a holiday on the Fourth of July.

Juneau police report a house burglary while a Lemon Creek resident watched the fireworks in town Thursday night. On Friday, a man had his vehicle stolen while he was watching the parade.

Police say a man who lives in the 5800 block of North Street reported coming home about 12:30 a.m. Friday to hinges broken off a door into his garage. The thief apparently got away with two ceramic jewelry boxes, several two-dollar bills, collectable silver coins, a Tlingit “Lovebirds” bracelet, a platinum ring with several small diamonds, a silver bracelet with flower designs, and a single gold earring with a blue stone.

Police say anyone with information about the missing items or the burglary should log onto Crime Line, or call JPD at 586-0600.

During the Fourth of July Parade, a 54-year-old Juneau man told officers his 2004 Toyota pickup had been stolen while parked in a lot near the 10th Street and Egan Drive intersection.

While he was talking to officers, he saw the truck traveling through the intersection. Police officers quickly stopped the vehicle and arrested Stephan Robert Anderson, 24, on first degree vehicle theft. Anderson is being held in Lemon Creek Correctional Center without bail. Police say the truck was not damaged and alcohol was not a factor in the incident.