An employee at the Tyee Lake hydroelectric power station was injured on June 11 and flown to Wrangell for medical care.
The Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department transported the worker to the hospital, arriving at the Wrangell Medical Center less than two hours after the initial call of the injury at the Tyee power station, about 45 air miles from Wrangell.
Neither the fire department nor the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, which operates the Tyee Lake facility, disclosed the nature or extent of the worker’s injury, or the worker’s name.
“The patient was reported to be in stable condition at the time care was transferred to hospital staff,” Wrangell Fire Chief Jordan Buness said in a statement on Monday, June 15.
“Our primary focus is our employee’s well-being, and we are heartened by their positive prognosis,” Robert Siedman, chief executive officer of the regional power agency, said in a statement on Tuesday, June 16.
“We are conducting a thorough review to determine the exact circumstances and identify any additional safety measures we can implement,” Siedman said.
The Ketchikan-based Southeast Alaska Power Agency operates the Tyee Lake hydro power project for Wrangell and Petersburg, and the Swan Lake hydro power station serving Ketchikan.
The Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department received the initial call at 9:39 a.m. on June 11, and used a member-owned aircraft to quickly fly emergency medical personnel to the work site. The aircraft and personnel were airborne 11 minutes after the call, Buness said.
Emergency personnel “conducted assessment and treatment, and prepared the patient for transport,” according to the fire chief’s statement, arriving back in Wrangell about an hour after they landed at the Tyee airstrip.
“No further information regarding the patient’s condition will be released out of respect for privacy,” Buness said.
