Alaska organized militia led massive evacuations and rescues after Typhoon Hai Long, officials say

Juneau — The Alaska organized militia evacuated villages, conducted large-scale search-and-rescue operations and provided short-term sheltering after Typhoon Hai Long, state officials told the House Special Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs on Feb. 19.

"It was the largest search and rescue mission that has occurred in Alaska," Deputy Commissioner Craig Christensen said, adding that "they rescued about 51 people" in a single day as Coast Guard, National Guard, state troopers, VPSOs and local teams worked together.

The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs presented operational totals and a personnel breakdown. Angela Laflamme, the department's legislative liaison, told the committee the organized militia supported 18 communities and provided logistics and assessments across the region: "We had around 30 miles of boardwalk that were cleared, 1,295 pounds of debris removed, 348,885 pounds of cargo delivered, 165,470 pounds of warehouse supplies processed in the Bethel logistics warehouse, and 491 homes that were assessed." She also said the state placed 221 militia members on state active duty (103 Army National Guard, 61 Air National Guard, 50 Alaska State Defense Force and 5 Alaska Naval Militia) and an additional 194 full-time Guard personnel supported operations in their regular roles.

Christensen described the evacuation pattern as a hub-and-spoke model: Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters moved residents from villages into Bethel, and C-17 airlift missions moved people onward to Anchorage. Christensen said about 501 people were flown from villages to Bethel, and Laflamme reported that 659 were subsequently evacuated from Bethel to Anchorage.

Brian Fisher, director of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, told the committee many displaced residents remain across the Yukon-Kuskokwim region and that the total number of people displaced is larger than those the state tracked into Anchorage. "The population that was displaced and remains displaced to this day [is] much larger than just the folks that the organized militia moved to Anchorage," Fisher said, noting ongoing relocations between villages.

State and federal funding procedures were explained: Laflamme said a state disaster declaration unlocks state disaster relief funds and that a federal disaster declaration activates FEMA programs, including public assistance for infrastructure and individual assistance for survivors. "75% is the federal cost share, and 25% is the state cost share," Laflamme said. She added that FEMA individual assistance caps this year could be "up to $42,500," and warned that reimbursement processes can take years. Christensen said FEMA has an early public-assistance estimate of about $125,000,000 for infrastructure costs.

Committee members pressed for more detail on tracking displaced people (noting limits when residents self-evacuate or stay with friends), the role of local volunteers, and how the Alaska State Defense Force participated. Christensen and Laflamme said ASDF members were especially valuable because many are located in rural communities; Christensen noted the ASDF has about 225 members and that roughly 25% (about 50–53 members) were placed on state active duty during the response.

Lawmakers also asked about longer-term force posture and training. Christensen said about 100 Alaska National Guard members are assigned to the National Guard response force and that training is planned to be completed by March, and he said there are currently no plans to deploy that response force outside Alaska, aside from routine small deployments to Washington, D.C., if requested.

Presenters described the response as a short-term surge capability: Laflamme said the organized militia's response began around Oct. 12 and demobilized Nov. 23, and emphasized the militia is intended to provide a surge of personnel for immediate needs rather than a long-term replacement for commercial contractors.

Brian Fisher characterized the scale of damage as historic. "This is the largest disaster in terms of the number of homes that have been destroyed," Fisher said, adding the event is likely the largest domestic evacuation from any region of the state since the 1964 earthquake and that rebuilding and return timelines could extend for many months or years.

Committee members requested copies of the presentation slides and follow-up data, including location-level lists of volunteer responders and updated counts of people still displaced. Chair Representative Eisheide closed by thanking the presenters and staff for the briefing and their work during the response.

The committee previewed upcoming hearings and adjourned at 11:23 a.m.