Alaska Railroad work train derails north of Talkeetna with no injuries
Jun. 7—An Alaska Railroad train derailed north of Talkeetna early Friday morning with no injuries reported.
Three crew members were aboard the work train at the time of the incident, according to a spokesperson for the railroad. The cause of the derailment was not immediately clear, they said.
Catherine Clarke, an Alaska Railroad spokesperson, said the derailment led to a puncture on the derailed locomotive's 2,600-gallon diesel fuel tank. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is responding to the incident.
"The damaged fuel tank has been secured and initial containment strategies put in place, as efforts continue to remediate the impacted site," Clarke said by email on Friday afternoon.
Department of Environmental Conservation staff are coordinating with the railroad and other agencies on cleanup, officials said. In a situation report, DEC said Friday afternoon that the amount of fuel spilled "is unknown at this time."
The derailment took place just after 3 a.m., approximately 22 miles north of Talkeetna on the Curry loop track — a section of the railroad that provides access to a quarry and is not accessible by road, Clarke said.
The derailment occurred around 400 feet from the Susitna River. There are barriers between the fuel spill and river, DEC said.
"The nearest culvert leading toward the river has been secured and blocked as a precautionary measure. No reports of impacts to surface water have been reported. No wildlife impacts have been observed," the agency said in its situation report.
The Alaska Railroad typically transports around half a million passengers per year. The derailment was not expected to affect the railroad's main line, which operates trains between Fairbanks and Seward, Clarke said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
In words and photos, rural Alaska residents reflect on their village's sustainable practices
GALENA, Alaska (AP) — In rural central Alaska, a village is in the midst of a clean energy transformation that locals say will boost savings, build resilience and provide jobs. Galena wants to curb its reliance on expensive, imported diesel that when burned is one of the largest contributors of planet-warming emissions. Nearly 10 years ago, the village started harvesting trees to fuel a biomass plant to heat its bustling boarding school, offsetting about 100,000 gallons (about 380,000 liters) of diesel annually. The local Louden Tribe is encouraging people to collect floating logs from the Yukon River that can be used for firewood and siding for the sustainable homes they're building for members. And soon a 1.5-megawatt solar farm will allow the city to turn off its diesel engines and run on 100% clean, renewable energy on sunny summer days, with excess power stored in a battery for later use. That will save another 100,000 gallons annually. The Associated Press talked to residents about their village's sustainable and renewable energy projects. Here are some of their reflections: Tim Kalke, 46, general manager at Sustainable Energy for Galena Alaska 'We're just ensuring that our critical infrastructure has redundancy and protection built into it, so that every time there's a power outage, it doesn't turn into tens of thousands of dollars in repairs in its wake.' Jade Thurmond, 20, a Galena resident working on the solar farm 'I'm really excited for when we are using it and how we'll reduce our diesel usage. I think that would be pretty fun to see and to hear about in the future, and see what comes along.' Jake Pogrebinsky, 54, a sawmill operator for Louden Tribe and driftwood collector 'Instead of having to make money to pay for barge freight or to buy materials, you are spending your time out on the river. For a young person, as a lesson, as a skill-building activity, it cannot possibly be compared to.' Brad Scotton, 54, a Galena city council member 'What (the biomass plant) has done is stabilize (costs), and it's created a local workforce and a job base that we never used to have. So it's keeping the money that used to go outside within the community and providing pretty meaningful jobs for people.' Will Kramer, 29, an applied mechanics instructor at Galena Interior Learning Academy 'We are just at the whim of whatever somebody else that wants to make all the money off of us is saying and doing. And being able to install and integrate these systems in these communities, it kind of gives the freedom back to the communities.' Phil Koontz, 74 , a retired environmental engineer for the Louden Tribe 'It would be very hard to live here without outside resources. I see fuel as probably the main outside resource that we use. It provides most of the electricity, it provides most of the transportation, it provides most of the heat. I don't know what we're going to do without those things. One of the solutions I see is efficiency, reducing the need for energy to produce the same result, better insulated houses, better vehicles, better energy sources.' Aaren Sommer, 19, a Galena resident helping install the solar array The array is 'going to reduce the diesel usage a whole bunch over at the power plant, which is going to help us out.' ___ Pineda reported from Los Angeles. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
Associated Press
4 hours ago
- Associated Press
In words and photos, rural Alaska residents reflect on their village's sustainable practices
GALENA, Alaska (AP) — In rural central Alaska, a village is in the midst of a clean energy transformation that locals say will boost savings, build resilience and provide jobs. Galena wants to curb its reliance on expensive, imported diesel that when burned is one of the largest contributors of planet-warming emissions. Nearly 10 years ago, the village started harvesting trees to fuel a biomass plant to heat its bustling boarding school, offsetting about 100,000 gallons (about 380,000 liters) of diesel annually. The local Louden Tribe is encouraging people to collect floating logs from the Yukon River that can be used for firewood and siding for the sustainable homes they're building for members. And soon a 1.5-megawatt solar farm will allow the city to turn off its diesel engines and run on 100% clean, renewable energy on sunny summer days, with excess power stored in a battery for later use. That will save another 100,000 gallons annually. The Associated Press talked to residents about their village's sustainable and renewable energy projects. Here are some of their reflections: Tim Kalke, 46, general manager at Sustainable Energy for Galena Alaska 'We're just ensuring that our critical infrastructure has redundancy and protection built into it, so that every time there's a power outage, it doesn't turn into tens of thousands of dollars in repairs in its wake.' Jade Thurmond, 20, a Galena resident working on the solar farm 'I'm really excited for when we are using it and how we'll reduce our diesel usage. I think that would be pretty fun to see and to hear about in the future, and see what comes along.' Jake Pogrebinsky, 54, a sawmill operator for Louden Tribe and driftwood collector 'Instead of having to make money to pay for barge freight or to buy materials, you are spending your time out on the river. For a young person, as a lesson, as a skill-building activity, it cannot possibly be compared to.' Brad Scotton, 54, a Galena city council member 'What (the biomass plant) has done is stabilize (costs), and it's created a local workforce and a job base that we never used to have. So it's keeping the money that used to go outside within the community and providing pretty meaningful jobs for people.' Will Kramer, 29, an applied mechanics instructor at Galena Interior Learning Academy 'We are just at the whim of whatever somebody else that wants to make all the money off of us is saying and doing. And being able to install and integrate these systems in these communities, it kind of gives the freedom back to the communities.' Phil Koontz, 74 , a retired environmental engineer for the Louden Tribe 'It would be very hard to live here without outside resources. I see fuel as probably the main outside resource that we use. It provides most of the electricity, it provides most of the transportation, it provides most of the heat. I don't know what we're going to do without those things. One of the solutions I see is efficiency, reducing the need for energy to produce the same result, better insulated houses, better vehicles, better energy sources.' Aaren Sommer, 19, a Galena resident helping install the solar array The array is 'going to reduce the diesel usage a whole bunch over at the power plant, which is going to help us out.' ___ Pineda reported from Los Angeles. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Moment Young Moose Calf Is Reunited with Mom After Getting Trapped is Everything
Moment Young Moose Calf Is Reunited with Mom After Getting Trapped is Everything originally appeared on PetHelpful. Kids are notorious for wandering away from their parents and usually at the worst times. One mama moose can attest to that as her baby calf decided to go off and explore the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Though, this wasn't a quick walkabout because this calf somehow got trapped underneath the boardwalk. Talk about a mom's worst nightmare! Fortunately, a group of caring humans quickly banded together to assist this mom and baby out of this jam. Go ahead and watch as they help this young moose calf reunite with mom. This mama moose had to have been so worried about her baby! We all know that there's nothing a loving mother wouldn't do for her child. Luckily, she had help from friends. 'Folks came together and safely rescued the baby while staying safe from mom,' stated the refuge to @fox9mn. As shown in the video, this is a delicate situation. They had to find a way to free the young moose while also making sure mom didn't perceive them as a threat to her baby. And the mother moose was keeping an eye on everyone involved. Honestly, her baby was in a real pickle! They had to tie a rope around the calf and physically lift this little one from where they were stuck under the out, you can imagine how relieved mom was. Commenters on the video were also elated to know that this baby calf made it out of this alright. 'Aww, thank you for getting that sweet baby out,' gushed @minnesota_doglover_blue after watching the video, and they weren't alone in sending gratitude. 'Thank you so much. The little one must have been so scared,' added @bellellaofficial. With her baby being in distress, we also have to applaud mom for staying as calm as she could in this situation. @jabaray66 even said, 'Mama seems to know when someone is helping [her] babies.' It's the best news that mama and baby are back together again. Hopefully, this young moose calf will think twice about running off or at least be a little more careful in the future. Moment Young Moose Calf Is Reunited with Mom After Getting Trapped is Everything first appeared on PetHelpful on Jun 26, 2025 This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
