Rescue In Alaska Avalanche

Just hours ahead of nasty winter weather, an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter Tuesday morning lifted nine motorists off the Seward Highway, where they had been trapped by an avalanche since Monday night.

National Guard Major Mike Haller says the mission was completed at around 10:45 a.m. PT. None of the victims was injured.

Hoping to snare the stranded drivers before another avalanche, the National Guard launched a C-130 transport plane and Pavehawk helicopter at first light Tuesday. The motorists had called state troopers on cell phones telling them they were all right.

A series of avalanches along the highway, which is the only surface route between the Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage, stranded two groups of motorists on Monday. One group of 10 drivers was rescued Monday by a private construction crew using a front loader to clear away snow. None was injured.

The second group of nine people was stranded overnight. As temperatures dropped into the teens, they were advised to stay in their cars and run their car heaters for just five minutes each hour to conserve gasoline.

Some hunkered down in sleeping bags, while others stayed in a Volkswagen bus with a propane heater, said Alaska State Trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson. Blizzard conditions have prevented rescuers from dropping supplies, such as food and blankets.

The motorists rescued Tuesday left their cars behind on the snowy highway. Authorities are unclear when the road will be passable enough for them to get the cars. A weather system bringing more snow and wind gusts of up to 80 mph is expected within the next 24 hours, increasing the risk of more avalanches.

"We haven't heard a good, clear definition of that because the avalanche threat is so great," says Haller. "It's not looking real good in the short term for them to be able to retrieve their automobiles."