Alaska troopers shot, wounded in Arctic town

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Two Alaska State Troopers were shot in a remote town north of the Arctic Circle Sunday morning and a standoff with an armed suspect continued into early evening, authorities said.

One of the troopers was wounded seriously and was flown to Anchorage from the town of Kotzebue, which serves as a regional hub for Inupiat Eskimo villages, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said.

City Attorney Joe Evans witnessed the shooting and said the incident began at about 9:15 a.m. as he was having breakfast with police Chief Craig Moates.

The wounded officers’ names were not released Sunday evening.

Wildfire near San Diego prompts evacuation

CAMPO, Calif. – Authorities are evacuating homes in eastern San Diego County as firefighters battle a 100-acre wildfire that has destroyed one structure.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the fire began around 2 p.m. Sunday in a rural area northeast of Campo and near the Golden Acorn Casino.

Capt. Daryll Pina said the fast-moving fire has destroyed one structure, but he hasn’t been able to confirm what it was.

Search ends for lost Mt. McKinley climbers

ANCHORAGE, Alaska –A shallow avalanche on Alaska’s Mount McKinley may not have killed four Japanese climbers, but the slide pushed them into a crevasse more than 100 feet deep, the National Park Service said Sunday.

Spokeswoman Kris Fister said Sunday from Talkeetna that the search for the climbers was permanently suspended after a mountaineering ranger found the climbing rope in debris at the bottom of the crevasse.

“We believe this is their final resting place,” Fister said.

Yoshiaki Kato, 64, Masako Suda, 50, Michiko Suzuki 56, and 63-year-old Tamao Suzuki, 63, are missing and presumed dead.

Calif. man rescued after whale hits boat

SAN FRANCISCO – A Northern California man was rescued after his 50-foot boat was struck by a whale while he sailed alone about 40 miles off the western coast of Mexico, authorities said.

The impact from the collision knocked out the sailboat’s steering and the vessel began taking on water late Tuesday, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Pamela Boehland said.

Max Young of Sacramento stuffed a mattress into the hole caused by the whale, turned on four bilge pumps and was “trying to bail out water as fast as he could, because he didn’t know how long it would take to be rescued,” his wife, Debra Young, said.

Associated Press