Anchorage - An Alaska National Guard helicopter reached a frozen Arctic village with technicians who hoped to repair its electrical generator, which failed on Sunday during a blizzard that sent the temperature to -28°C.
About 100 of Kaktovik's 300 residents were in the village's equipment maintenance building because it still had power. Others were heavily dressed and hunkered down in other buildings with stoves or small generators.
Alaska National Guard spokesperson Kalei Brooks said the helicopter and a cargo plane approached the village on Tuesday afternoon. Snow drifts on a runway kept the plane from landing, but the helicopter touched down in Kaktovik itself three to five kilometres away.
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The time on the ground was brief - just five to 10 minutes, Brooks said.
"It was on the ground long enough to offload the technicians they need to restore the power," she said, plus about 270kg of portable generating equipment.
Conditions in Kaktovik were a little colder Tuesday with a reading of -32°C and winds gusting up to 105km/h, according to the National Weather Service.
Earlier air attempts to reach Kaktovik were frustrated by "a complete, total whiteout", said Mike Haller, a spokesperson for the state department of military and veterans affairs.
People who couldn't leave their homes were using propane stoves, kerosene heaters and wood stoves to try to stay warm, or bundling up in arctic gear. No injuries have been reported, said Dennis Packer, also in the mayor's office.
Plans were underway to get another 1 800kg of generators, oil and other equipment to the north-east Alaska village, which is on Barter Island along the Beaufort Sea coast. It's the only village in the 7,84-million-hectare Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Officials said if aircraft couldn't make the next delivery, the equipment would be loaded onto SnoCats for a 160km overland trip from Deadhorse in the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. - Sapa-AP
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